South Korea nuclear failure hidden for five weeks, sparking protests and investigations

[bananas]

"a nuclear-plant failure that was hidden for a month"

"Korea Hydro didn’t report the blackout and deleted it from its records before an outside inquiry discovered it"

"Almost 80 percent of respondents opposed extending the life of older reactors in a February poll of 1,100 people by the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement. "

“We should shut down old reactors like an old, used car should go to a junkyard,” Kyungjoo Environment Movement’s co- chairman Kim Ik Joong said.


Oh yeah - the failure of this plant will also result in increased coal burning.
Because when nuclear fails, it fails in a big way.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-13/nuclear-halt-in-south-korea-seen-boosting-coal-energy-markets

Bloomberg News
Nuclear Halt in South Korea Seen Boosting Coal: Energy Markets
By Sangim Han and Yuriy Humber on April 13, 2012

South Korea may expand record imports of power-station coal as a nuclear-plant failure that was hidden for a month stokes opposition to atomic energy a year after Japan’s Fukushima disaster.

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP) (KEP), the nation’s electricity monopoly, says it may boost coal purchases to replace nuclear power generation if the Kori 1 reactor remains shut and the government fails to extend the lifespan of a second reactor. Kori 1 was closed for safety checks on March 13, five weeks after a power failure caused the temperature of its core to rise. The operating permit for Wolsong 1 expires in November.

<snip>

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., a unit of Korea Electric that operates the Kori plant, announced its power failure on March 12, a day after the first anniversary of Fukushima. A 12- minute power loss occurred on Feb. 9 and sent the core temperature to 58.3 degrees Celsius (137 degrees Fahrenheit) from 36.9 degrees, according to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission.

Korea Hydro didn’t report the blackout and deleted it from its records before an outside inquiry discovered it, the committee said last month. The government is investigating why the incident wasn’t reported immediately, Energy Minister Hong Suk Woo said March 14. The government will review South Korea’s nuclear plants by July and has pledged to upgrade safety systems, in particular at plants older than 20 years, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement today.
Political Protest

South Korea held parliamentary elections on April 11 and has a presidential election in December. Local citizen groups including the Kyungjoo Environment Movement Association say they will campaign against Wolsong 1’s extension. Almost 80 percent of respondents opposed extending the life of older reactors in a February poll of 1,100 people by the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement.

“We should shut down old reactors like an old, used car should go to a junkyard,” Kyungjoo Environment Movement’s co- chairman Kim Ik Joong said. “Extending a lifespan would only boost the chance of things getting out of order.”

<snip>

[Fledermaus]

1. " power failure on March 12, a day after the first anniversary of Fukushima"!!!!

[bongbong]

2. Beware the Isotopes of March

[Kolesar]

3. So sayeth the Soothsayer

I can't top your pun.

[madokie]

4. It seems to matter not where they're located

the message is always the same, no, not, didn't happen.

Trust the nuke boys at your own peril