Kori-1’s dismantling to test Moon’s energy policy
BUSAN/ULSAN — Korea’s first nuclear reactor, Kori Unit 1 in Gijang County, Busan, has served the country for four decades and is now waiting for its finale — decommissioning.
Nuclear decommissioning is one of the potential industries which the Moon Jae-in administration claims will fill the vacuum created by its drive to phase out nuclear power from the country.
This reporter earned a chance to look into the restricted facility, which was operated and will be dismantled by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). KHNP officials met there and agreed that the decommissioning of Kori Unit 1 will sway the country’s bid to industrialize nuclear decommissioning and enter overseas markets, and pledged to leave no stain on the project.
Kori Unit 1 is Korea’s first nuclear reactor, which started operation in 1978. Its construction was the country’s biggest infrastructure project at the time, as its total cost of 156 billion won ($133.45 million) accounted for nearly 30 percent of Korea’s national budget in 1971 when it broke ground.
Its completion made Korea the 21st country in the world to have a nuclear power plant, and the reactor served its role for 40 years until it came to its permanent shutdown on June 18, 2017. During the four decades, the reactor generated 156 billion kilowatt-hours of power, which is enough energy for the citizens of Busan, Korea’s second-largest city, to use for eight years.
“After operating the reactor for nearly 30 years, it feels sad that the reactor will be started to decommission in the near future,” Kori Unit 1 chief Kwon Yang-taek said. “Kori Unit 1 has been the school of nuclear plant engineers in Korea and served as the foundation of Korea’s nuclear industry.”
Kwon offered a tour of the facility, stopping first at the turbine hall which had massive but inoperative turbines in the center. It is nearly impossible to have a conversation without audio devices near an active nuclear turbine due to the noise.
Coming up next was the main control room, which KHNP officials called the brain of Kori Unit 1. The gauge on the main output panel showed the number zero, meaning that the reactor had been permanently stopped, but cooling. The power supply and radiation monitoring devices were still running to monitor spent fuel safely and the officials were keeping their eyes on those devices.