The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said on the 16th it allowed the restart of Wolsong Unit 3, which went into a regular inspection on Sept. 26 last year.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission determined that reactor operations can be carried out safely after inspecting 85 items that must be completed before criticality out of 94 total regular inspection items.
However, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission confirmed in the inspection that some pipe supports—installed to withstand pipe weight, vibration, and thermal expansion—were built in forms different from the design drawings. In this regard, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission directed Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) to conduct an expanded inspection. As a result, shape mismatches were found in 637 out of 7,904 safety-related supports. Of the 637, 539 were found to pose no safety issue through integrity assessments, and the remaining 98 were repaired.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission plans to finally verify safety through nine follow-up inspection items, including a power ascension test.