The completion of units 5 and 6 in Shin-Kori, Ulju-gun, Ulsan-si, adjacent to the Gori Nuclear Power Plant in Busan, is expected to be delayed. Due to the enforcement of the Severe Accident Corporate Penalty Act, it was affected by restrictions on night and holiday work during vulnerable hours, and the need to establish a worker safety program.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s President Jung Jae-hoon recently posted a post on his SNS, saying, “Night work is virtually stopped due to the enactment of the Major Disaster Act, and it is inevitable to adjust the schedule of Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6.” Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said on the 7th, “We need to realize (eliminate) the unreasonable process schedule that affects the safety of construction sites. It is also necessary to reduce work during vulnerable times, where there is a high probability of accidents,” he said. “We are discussing with partners to extend the construction period including additional work to improve seismic performance.” When one process is delayed, it is not known how late the air will be as the other process is affected.
The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. believes that night work will be virtually impossible if the Severe Disaster Punishment Act, which allows punishment of the person in charge of management of a company that has suffered a serious accident such as a worker’s death, is implemented in January next year. In August of last year, at the construction site of Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6, a crane driver in his 50s was killed by construction materials. In the Hanul No. 6 power plant, the reactor was stopped because the control card was inserted incorrectly. In Hanbit 5, there was a controversy over maintenance failure.
Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6 began construction in June 2016 with the permission of the Nuclear Safety Commission. Originally, the planned completion dates were March 2021 (unit 5) and March 2022 (unit 6). However, in 2017, when the process reached 28%, the construction was stopped for about three months as the government proceeded to public debate. In addition, as manpower input was restricted due to the implementation of the 52-hour week, the scheduled completion date for Shin-Kori Unit 5 was delayed to March 2023 and the 6th unit to the end of June 2024. As of January, the fair rate was 64.73%. Reporter Ha Song-i [email protected]
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| Shin-Kori Units 5 and 6 construction site. International Newspaper DB |