By Kim Se-jeong
The government will begin safety checks on two nuclear reactors being built at the New Gori Plant in Ulsan next week after three workers died in a gas leak on Dec. 26.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Friday that it would inspect the New Gori No. 3 and No. 4 reactors jointly with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) from Monday. KOSHA is affiliated with the ministry.
The ministry said results were expected to be released by Jan. 25.
“Inspectors have begun preparatory work for the safety check,” said Kim Jeong-ho from the ministry’s occupational health division.
In the wake of the gas leak, the ministry ordered the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Corp. (KHNPC), the state operator of all nuclear power plants in Korea, to halt construction work and to perform an emergency inspection.
The three workers died in an auxiliary room in the basement of a building close to reactor No. 3, in Ulsan, North Gyeongsang Province.
Police are continuing their investigation into why the workers entered the room in the first place when they had no reason to do so. The two reactors are scheduled to start operating in June, but the delay is unavoidable, according to a KHNPC official.
Inspectors will look into the safety risks of equipment, appliances, installations and raw materials. They also will examine harmful objects and chemicals, management of materials, temperature, humidity and noise and dust levels. Conditions for workers will be scrutinized as well.
Although training people and developing ways of ensuring safety at construction sites are KOSHA’s main tasks, it is authorized to run an emergency inspection when an incident occurs.
The deaths also worry residents living near the nuclear power plant. They are already allegedly living under a health threat. Recently, a district court in Busan ruled in favor of a thyroid cancer patient, who filed a compensation suit against KHNPC by claiming radiation from the power plant caused the cancer.
A group of 301 thyroid cancer patients from the region have followed her example and filed a class-action suit against the operator.
The two affected reactors are among five being built in the country, which gets 30 percent of its electricity from nuclear energy.
New Wolsong No. 2 reactor, in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, is undergoing a test run, and is expected to go operational in July. Two reactors at the New Hanul nuclear power plant in Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province, are expected to start operating in February 2018.
Twenty-three nuclear power reactors in four plants are up and running. Four additional reactors are waiting government approval.