[Extended Operation of Wolsong Unit 1 Canceled] Nuclear Safety Commission Left out Information and Neglected Legal Safety Assessments

[경향신문] According to the ruling from the Seoul Administrative Court on February 7 canceling the permit to continue the operation of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) left out data that should have been reviewed when deciding to continue operations of the unit and failed to conduct a safety assessment using the latest technology.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) had made drastic changes to the facilities and parts used in Wolsong Unit 1 including the replacement of over 380 pressure tubes, key parts of a nuclear reactor, near the time of the safety assessment, yet the nuclear safety commission failed to review this and permitted the extended operation of the unit. The replacement of the parts originally required the commission's review, decision, and permission, but the parts in Wolsong Unit 1 were replaced with the approval of a manager-level employee. A comparison chart showing the facilities and parts before and after the changes was not submitted to the commission either.

The Nuclear Power Safety Act stipulates that the latest technology must be applied to the safety assessment of a nuclear power plant. However, the commission did not apply the latest technological standard from Canada, R-7, which they had applied in assessing Wolsong Units 2, 3, and 4 built later than Unit 1, in the safety assessment to determine the extended operation of Wolsong Unit 1.

The composition of the commission was also in violation of the law. According to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, "A person who has worked or has been working as the head or an employee of a user of nuclear energy or an organization of users of nuclear energy during the preceding three years" cannot be a member of the commission. But Chairman Lee Eun-cheol and commissioner Jo Seong-gyeong have worked as members of a Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power committee. The court elaborated, "The legislation concerning the nuclear safety commission stipulated the grounds for the disqualification of the commission members to maintain its independence and fairness when it came to nuclear energy users, who are subject to the regulation. Naturally, a decision which involved a member disqualified from the commission is illegal."