nuclear-news

South Korea’s tarnished nuclear reputation with 60 forged safety certificates

KHNP, fully owned by state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), reported eight firms that supplied parts had forged 60 certificates to cover 7,682 items between 2003 and 2012, the ministry and the company officials said.

South Korea widens nuclear investigation, risks power cuts By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL   Nov 6, 2012 (Reuters) – South Korea’s main nuclear power supervisor extended an investigation into forged safety certificates for reactor components to three more facilities on Tuesday, a day after shutting down two reactors……
in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, there were concerns the discovery could tarnish the image of the country’s nuclear program.

“The commission will verify all the components at the reactors by
setting up a private and public team … We will make regulations to
supervise them,” said one of the nine members of the Nuclear Safety
and Security Commission, who could not be named as he was not
authorized to speak to the media.

A spokesman at the commission added that members of the private and
public joint team would be announced on Wednesday at the earliest,
along with their investigation schedules.

The three additional reactors under investigation are still running.
The two reactors already shut down will remain closed until the parts
are replaced.

With another five reactors already closed for regular maintenance and
glitches, a total of 6,500 megawatts of power capacity has been
removed from the grid, from a total capacity of 81,740 MW.

The two shut reactors, each able to supply 1,000 MW, were found to
have components with certificates purportedly from U.S. and Canadian
regulators that had been forged by the suppliers of the parts.

The latest incident comes after a series of problems in South Korea’s
nuclear power sector this year. Several reactors have been shut down
for varying periods for malfunctioning, and officials at state-owned
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) have been investigated for
receiving bribes, according to local media.

“There were a lot of glitches earlier this year in reactors
management. Those in charge of the matter often said they didn’t know,
but not knowing is also a problem,” said Kim Jin-woo, president and
chief executive of Korea Energy Economics Institute, a government
think-tank for energy policy.

KHNP, fully owned by state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO), reported eight firms that supplied parts had forged 60 certificates to cover 7,682 items between 2003 and 2012, the ministry and the company officials said.

KHNP declined to identify the eight firms.

Local media reported on Tuesday that KEPCO President and Chief
Executive Kim Joong-kyum would soon tender his resignation, although
the reports did not say why. A KEPCO spokesman said on Tuesday that he
had no knowledge of the matter.
SOUTH KOREA TO CUT CONSUMPTION

Government officials said South Korea would take measures to cut power
consumption rather than hiking imports of alternative fuels to feed
additional electricity generation…… South Korea, which experienced
nationwide power cuts in September of last year, has been campaigning
to encourage consumers to save energy in the peak seasons of summer
and winter.

Authorities imposed fines on public buildings that kept doors open
while running air conditioning this summer and stipulated that
thermostats in big department stores and hotels be set at 26 degrees
Celsius, several degrees higher than usual…..
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/06/us-nuclear-korea-idUSBRE8A50KW20121106

November 7, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, South Korea