KEPCO undergoes repairs for cracks in nuclear reactor containment buildings in UAE

Posted on : 2018-10-17 16:30 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
News comes amid growing concern over safety of reactors in South Korea
The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant currently under construction by the KEPCO-led consortium in the United Arab Emirates. (provided by KEPCO)
The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant currently under construction by the KEPCO-led consortium in the United Arab Emirates. (provided by KEPCO)

The Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is carrying out repair work after the discovery of cracks in the containment buildings of the No. 1 to 4 reactors of Barakah Nuclear Power Plant it is currently building in the United Arab Emirates.

The news comes amid growing fears over the safety of nuclear power after cracks were found to be present in the walls of the reactor containment buildings used to prevent the release of radiation at several nuclear power plants in South Korea.

During a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on Oct. 16, KEPCO CEO Kim Jong-gap was asked by Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Won-shik whether policies to promote the shift away from nuclear power were responsible for its low usage rate.

“[Construction] has been halted on the UAE power plants because of the discovery of cracks,” Kim said in his response. In explaining that South Korea’s low rate of nuclear power usage over the past one to two years was due to a need for repair to cracks and corroded plates resulting from poor construction in the past, he disclosed that a similar issue was occurring with the UAE plants currently being built by KEPCO in a consortium with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Samsung C&T, and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction.

According to the Hankyoreh’s investigation, cracks were first discovered at Barakah in Aug. 2017. The first was found in the containment building for the No. 3 reactor, which was under construction at the time. A subsequent examination was conducted on the buildings for the No. 1, 2, and 4 reactors, resulting in the discovery of cracks in all of them. Repair work has been underway since then.

Cracks in concrete walls typically occur because of improper concrete casting. The pouring of the concrete must be done with great care, as the concrete used for the buildings is only 1.2 meters thick and has rebar that is situated vertically and horizontally within it. Cracks may arise if the concrete solidifies without being carefully filled in.

The discovery of cracks in the UAE containment buildings could spur calls for compensation for the construction delay. Nuclear fuel was loaded into the Barakah 1 reactor in late 2016, with construction scheduled for completion in Apr. 2017. As the construction period dragged out, the completion date was adjusted to late 2018 through an agreement last year between the KEPCO consortium and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC). With repair efforts still under way on the cracks, ENEC could demand compensation for the delay if construction is not completed by the end of the year. The compensation amount for delays is set at US$600,000 per day according to KEPCO and ENEC’s contract.

The discovery of cracks in new power plants under construction – as opposed to an older plant – appears likely to raise questions about the South Korean nuclear power industry’s power plant construction capabilities. After cracks were discovered at numerous nuclear power plants in South Korea – starting with the Hanbit 2 plant – KHNP and the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) explained that the “construction capabilities were not up to par two decades ago.”

But the Barakah plant adopts the state-of-the-art APR1400 model, which represents the full range of domestic nuclear plant technology. The UAE initially decided to have the plant built using South Korean methods, adopting the model of the Shin-Kori 3 and 4 reactors using the APR1400. In South Korea, the APR1400 is used with Shin Kori reactors 3 to 6 and Shin Hanul reactors 1 and 2.

“It’s shocking to learn cracks were discovered even at the state-of-the-art UAE nuclear power plant,” said Woo Won-shik, adding that an “investigation of the Shin Kori 3 and 4 reactors used as a pilot model for the UAE plant appears unavoidable.”

By Choi Ha-yan, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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