Nuclear Safety and Security Commission

The 123rd Meeting of the Commission Was Held

■ The「 bill to modify the operating license of nuclear facilities」was discussed and passed to replace and relocate the safety-grade local control panels of the radiation monitors of the Hanbit Unit 1 and 2. 

■ The「current progress of and future plans for the stress test of the operating nuclear power plants」was reported. 

On July 10th, 2020, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (Chairperson, UhmJaesik, hereinafter referred to as the “NSSC”) held the 123rd meeting of the commission where the commissioners discussed 1 agenda item for deliberation and resolution. 

※ In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, commissioners’ meetings have been held in the form of a meeting with limited face-to-face interactions since April 10th by minimizing the number of attendees, checking body temperatures, wearing masks and physically distancing (maintaining a distance of 2 meters) from each other. 

The commissioners discussed and passed the 「bill to modify the operating license of nuclear facilities.」This bill will allow the entire safety-grade local control panels*(9 panels per reactor unit) of the radiation monitors of the Hanbit Unit 1 and 2 to be replaced, and some of the local control panels (6 panels per reactor unit) to be relocated to meet the design requirements for the improvement of safety.

* Local control panels convert the current signal measured by the radiation detector into a radiation level and generates an instruction and an alarm.

In addition, the commissioners were reported on the 「current progress of and future plans for the stress test of the operating nuclear power plants.」

From October 2016 to December 2018, the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (hereinafter referred to as the "KHNP") pushed forward with the first-stage

stress test for 8 reactor units that represent each type of reactors, such as the Kori Unit 2 and the Wolsong Unit 2, among all operating nuclear fleets in

order to check the ability of the nuclear power plants to respond to extreme natural disasters.

The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety verified the results and confirmed that the stress tests done by the KHNP were properly conducted in accordance

with the guidelines of the NSSC. As for the 47 items derived from the verification process for safety improvement, the NSSC required the KHNP to establish implementation plans and carry out the plans to improve safety.

It is planned to reflect the verification results in the second-stage stress tests for 14 reactor units to strengthen safety verification.

Meanwhile, the commissioners decided to place the ｢ bill to revise the Rules on Nuclear Control Education｣ on the table of a next meeting for rediscussion.

The NSSC Start Investigation on Turbine Trip and Power Reduction of the Hanul Unit 2

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (Chairperson, UhmJaesik, hereinafter referred to as the “NSSC”) was notified by the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (hereinafter referred to as the “KHNP”) that the power of the Hanul Unit 2 had been reduced on July 4th at 04:36. The NSSC is figuring out the initial situation through the site office established at the nuclear power site and has dispatched an investigation team composed of experts of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (a Technical Support Organization under the NSSC) to find out causes.

The Hanul Unit 2 had been in normal operation since the NSSC allowed its criticality on February 4th. As the water quality condition of the feedwater in the secondary system to the steam generator exceeded the criteria, the KHNP induced the power reduction and trip of the reactor according to the technical specifications.

Currently, the unit is maintaining a safe state with 1.2% reactor power, and it was confirmed that the level of radiation in the site is also within the normal level.

The NSSC is planning to thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident, and will continue to keep its eyes on the measures of the KHNP and the operation status of the unit

Neither-Fish-Nor-Fowl Radiation Safety Regulations? They Are Not Difficult Anymore!

-The NSSC unveiled 「Radiation Regulation Interpretation SOS (Safety regulation Open Service).」

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (Chairperson, UhmJaesik, hereinafter referred to as the “NSSC”) announced that 「Radiation Regulation Interpretation SOS (Safety regulation Open Service)」 will be established and run on the web in the form of a compilation of authoritative interpretations to build trust of legal interpretation and improve understanding of regulatees*. *

* about 9,000 institutions in Korea that are using radiation for the industrial, medical, educational and such purposes. 

Escaping from 1 to 1 Q&A (question and answer) about legal interpretations requested by radiation users, the NSSC is officially announcing its law interpretations through 「Radiation Regulation Interpretation SOS」 thus improving trust of the users over the authoritative interpretations and acquiring consistency of law application to the use of radiation at site. In particular, the radiation users can solve their inquiries over the legal interpretation and application right away, check in advance unintentional violations of the laws, and take necessary actions thereby using radiation in a safer way.

You can use 「Radiation Regulation Interpretation SOS」 at the website of the NSSC (www.nssc.go.kr), the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (www.kins.re.kr), the Radiation Safety Information System (http://rasis.kins.re.kr), and the Nuclear Safety Information Center (http://nsic.nssc.go.kr). 

The NSSC will continue to update the service through periodically validating the effectiveness of and supplementing the registered interpretation cases and finding new cases to provide user-oriented services.

The 122nd Meeting of the Commission Was Held

■ The 「bill to modify the operating license and business license of nuclear facilities」 applied by the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and the KEPCO Nuclear Fuel was discussed and passed.

■ The ｢bill to revise the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Nuclear Safety」 was discussed and passed to prepare a legal foundation for on-line issuance and delivery of nuclear energy-related licenses.

On June 26th, 2020, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (Chairperson, UhmJaesik, hereinafter referred to as the “NSSC”) held the 122nd meeting of the commission where the commissioners discussed 2 agenda items for deliberation and resolution.

※ In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, commissioners’ meetings have been held in the form of a meeting with limited face-to-face interactions since April 10th by minimizing the number of attendees, checking body temperatures, wearing masks and physically distancing (maintaining a distance of 2 meters) from each other.

The commissioners discussed and passed the 「bill to modify the operating license and business license of nuclear facilities」 applied by the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (hereinafter referred to as the “KHNP”) and the KEPCO Nuclear Fuel (hereinafter referred to as the “KEPCO NF”) for the Kori Unit 2 and the 3rd KEPCO nuclear fuel factory respectively.

The bill is about modifying the operating license to relocate pressure measuring devices in the reactor building of the Kori Unit 2 to the radiation management zone, and about reflecting the changes of the building structures of the 3rd factory of KEPCO NF in the licensing documents.

The commissioners also discussed and passed the ｢bill to revise the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Nuclear Safety｣. The bill will allow on-line application, issuance and re-issuance of nuclear energy-related licenses thus promoting users’ convenience.

The bill is about including on-line application in the application methods for issuance and re-issuance of nuclear energy-related licenses, and including a printable award certificate-type license format in addition to the existing memo pad-type license.

Chairperson Uhm Visited Radiographic Testing Site at Shipyard and Communicated with Them

- He visited Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering to check the safety management status of ordering companies and workers. -

Uhm Jaesik, Chairperson of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, visited Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, located in Geoje, on the 25th of June to inspect the radiographic testing of ship and offshore plants* and had a meeting with related personnel. 

* Radiographic testing (RT) is an inspecting method to check defects in manufactured parts, such as welded parts, by irradiating a radiation source During this visit, 

Chairperson Uhm checked the safety management status of the outdoor radiographic testing site for large inspection objects such as ships and the implementation status of safety-related duties by ordering companies*. He also encouraged the companies to pay attention to and efforts for the safe use of radiation. 

* A business that has ordered radiographic testing services

For the protection of the workers in the area of radiographic testing, the NSSC has been applying safety duties to ordering companies since 2015 thereby requiring them to provide safe working environment such as installing radiation shielding facilities, and to report daily workloads. 

In the shipbuilding field, radiographic testing is performed in a high and narrow space in a ship being built, so ordering companies' proactive safety measures are very important. 

Chairperson Uhm emphasized the faithful implementation of the ordering companies' safety measures, saying, “The orderer's continued interest and efforts are the most important to protect the radiation workers.”

The NSSC Published <Commentary Book on Reporting and Disclosing of Information of Reactors and Associated Facilities> For Timely and Accurate Disclosure of Information to the Public

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (Chairperson, Uhm Jaesik, hereinafter referred to as the “NSSC”) has prepared a commentary book on reporting and disclosing of information of reactors and associated facilities* (hereinafter referred to as “commentary book”) and published it on June 23rd for faster and more accurate reporting and information disclosure to the public when an event (accidents and incidents) occurs.

* Facilities related to the safety of reactors such as reactor cooling facilities and nuclear fuel material treatment and storage facilities

The commentary book explains the Regulation on the Reporting and Public Announcement of Accidents and Incidents at Nuclear Facilities of the background of selecting event types subject to reporting, application methods, and actual cases

.

Through this publication, it is expected that the licensees such as the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power will be able to judge quickly and clearly whether to report a case, thereby preventing omission or delay of reporting due to arbitrary interpretation.

Not only does the NSSC distribute the commentary books to the agencies obliged to report such as the KHNP, the commission will also release the books through the Nuclear Safety Information Center (http://nsic.nssc.go.kr) to improve public awareness of the handling of accidents at nuclear power plants. In addition, the NSSC plans to continuously improve and supplement the commentary books by collecting opinions from time to time.