50 safety devices for 18 domestic nuclear power plants confirmed to be underperforming will be replaced with new products.
The Nuclear Safety And Security Commission held a meeting on the 28th and deliberated and decided to replace the existing devices of 18 nuclear power plants with products that have passed performance verification, and also to revise related safety reports and operational guidelines.
The device that has been revealed as problematic through a public interest whistleblower is the passive catalytic hydrogen recombiner (PAR). The PAR is a device that, when hydrogen is generated inside the reactor, combines hydrogen and oxygen using platinum as a catalyst to convert them into water and reduce the hydrogen concentration to prevent an explosion.
Earlier, in 2021, public interest reports were received indicating that the hydrogen removal capability of Seracom products installed in Gori Units 2 to 4, Wolsong Units 2 to 4, Hanbit Units 1 to 6, and Hanul Units 1 to 6 did not meet the standards. According to the findings of the Nuclear Safety And Security Commission, the devices failed to sufficiently reduce hydrogen in the event of a serious accident and did not meet standards even during normal conditions.
In response, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power is in the process of replacing the devices with products from KNT, and the new PAR meets all criteria, including hydrogen removal capability, structural stability, and seismic performance.
During that meeting, a plan to extend the leakage test cycle for the Shin Wolsong Units 1 and 2 reactor buildings from 5 years to 10 years was approved, along with the decommissioning of unused facilities applied for by KEPCO NF and the installation of new decontamination facilities.
The Nuclear Safety And Security Commission stated, "The facilities that received the relevant modification approvals will undergo thorough confirmation and inspection of safety during the process of being installed and operated on-site in the future."