Saeul Unit 3 Shut Down Again: Steam Leak Detected in a Pipe Three Days After Restart

【Financial News Ulsan = Choi Su-sang, Reporter】 Saeul Unit 3 in Ulju County, Ulsan, which is undergoing commissioning, was manually shut down on the 6th due to an equipment problem. Saeul Nuclear Power Division said a steam leak had occurred and that steam was being released into the atmosphere.
According to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP)'s Saeul Nuclear Power Division, a leak was detected at around 3:01 p.m. that day in a pipe that drains condensate from steam supplied to the turbine at Saeul Unit 3, a 1.4-million-kilowatt-class reactor. The unit had automatically shut down during commissioning and had been restarted two days earlier.
Saeul Nuclear Power Division immediately manually shut down the reactor to stabilize and maintain the equipment. It said the shutdown had no radiological impact and that the plant remained stable.
The division also sent text messages to Ulsan residents, informing them that "steam is being released into the atmosphere to stabilize the plant's equipment."
Saeul Nuclear Power Division is analyzing the cause of the leak.
Earlier, Saeul Unit 3 automatically shut down during commissioning on the 11th of last month.
An investigation by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) found that the incident occurred when an operator incorrectly entered the setting for the position limiter of a turbine control valve while restoring reactor output after a commissioning test that cut off power transmission at 80% reactor output.
The NSSC completed the investigation and approved the resumption of commissioning tests on the 4th. This time, however, the unit was manually shut down.
After receiving an operating license from the NSSC in December last year, Saeul Unit 3 has been undergoing commissioning tests that gradually increase its output ahead of commercial operation.
[email protected] Choi Su-sang Reporter