Shin Kori Unit 2 & Shin Wolsong Unit 1 Get Government Green Light

Construction of Shin Ulchin Units 1&2 are okayed

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) said it held a second meeting on Dec. 2 and approved the operation of Shin Kori Nuclear Power Unit 2 and Shin Wolsong Nuclear Power Unit 1 after test operations proved their safety. The commission also said it gave the go-ahead to the construction of Shin Ulchin Nuclear Power Units 1&2 following its confirmation of the safety of their construction sites and preparatory designs.
The soon-to-be operated Shin Kori Nuclear Power Unit 2 and Shin Wolsong Nuclear Power Unit 1 adopt an improved version of the Korean standard nuclear reactor, Optimized Power Reactor 1000 (OPR1000), like Shin Kori Nuclear Power Unit 1, which is now in commercial operation.
The construction of Shin Kori Unit 2 began in January 2005. Shin Wolsong Power Unit 1 broke ground in October 2005.
The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) scrutinized application papers for the operation of Shin Kori Nuclear Power Unit 2 and Shin Wolsong Nuclear Power Unit 1, submitted in September 2008 and August 2009, respectively. A 15-member specialized committee's further examination of KINS's evaluation and testing outcomes showed that they were confirmed to be safe, so the NSSC gave the green light for the operation of the two units in accordance with related laws.
The NSSC ordered Shin Kori Nuclear Power Unit 2 and Shin Wolsong Nuclear Power Unit 1 to be reinforced with safety measures under the worst case scenario before they are put into commercial operation. The reinforced safety steps are not preconditions for obtaining the green light, but they are in force following the recent nuclear accidents at the Fukushima nuclear power plants in Japan.
Shin Ulchin Nuclear Power Units 1&2 are like Shin Kori Units 3&4, employing the Advanced Power Reactor 1400 (APR1400), which gets under construction with permission obtained in May 2008.
Shin Kori Units 3&4, both 1,400MW-class reactors built with Korea's own technology, broke ground in September 2009. The two are to be put into commercial service in September 2013 and September 2014.
KINS examined the papers on preliminary designs and site safety of Shin Ulchin Nuclear Power Units 1&2 for some 39 months since September 2008 when their application was submitted. An experts'committee conducted a review of the KINS evaluation and testing outcomes and confirmed the safety of the projected units, so the NSSC approved the construction of the units in accordance with related laws.
The NSSC said it ordered the construction of the projected Shin Ulchin Units 1&2 to adopt an additional 33 safety measure categories under the worst case scenario in the wake of the Japanese nuclear accident and other steps recommended by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from the preliminary design stage.
The NSSC said it conducts a final scrutiny into the operation of a nuclear power unit through a test operation lasting four to six months when an application on its operation is submitted and it will conduct a thorough examination into prior use according to each construction process. nw

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. President Kim Jong-shin
Photos on courtesy of KHNP

(top right) Shin Kori 4, which uses a 1,400MW-class reactor built with Korea's own technology, to be also adopted by Shin Ulchin Units 1 & 2, whose construction has been approved by the government. (shown below) Shin Kori Nuclear Power Unit 2 and Shin Wolsong Unit 1, which each have gotten the government green light for their operation.