9 Nuclear Power Plant Fires in 5 Years... "Negligent Response Including Failure to Report"

Assemblywoman Kim Sang-hee Releases Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Audit Materials on the 4th

Nuclear power plant. Stock photo. Not related to the article.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] In the past five years, there have been nine fire incidents at nuclear power plants, but some were not even reported, raising concerns about inadequate responses.

According to data from the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) disclosed by National Assembly member Kim Sang-hee (Democratic Party) of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee on the 4th, KHNP reported a total of nine fire-related incidents to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission over the past five years.

Among these, for eight fire-related cases, the difference between the time the in-house fire brigade was dispatched and the time the local fire station was notified ranged from a minimum of 1 minute (Wolseong Unit 3) to a maximum of 37 minutes (Hanbit Unit 1). In particular, the 2018 incident at Wolseong Unit 4 involving “flame generation during oxygen injection into the upper layer of the moderator gas system” was not reported to the external local fire station. At that time, the manual stipulated that the local fire station should only be requested to dispatch and notified if initial suppression by the in-house fire brigade failed after a nuclear power plant fire occurred, so no separate action was taken, according to KHNP’s explanation.

KHNP explained, “Current regulations require immediate dispatch orders to the in-house fire brigade when fire signs such as detector activation, smoke, or burning smell are detected, and only in the case of an actual fire should the external local fire station be contacted without delay to request dispatch.”

However, Assembly member Kim pointed out, “There is a fine line between fire signs and an actual fire. Since large fires start from small fire signs, considering the special nature of nuclear power plants, KHNP’s current regulations are not effective in responding to fire-related incidents.”

Due to delayed notification to the external local fire stations, the arrival time of local fire personnel at the scene was also delayed. The recent fire incident at Shin-Kori Unit 4 was also reported to have delayed arrival of firefighters due to “late notification to the external fire station” and “insufficient manuals regarding external fire personnel access.”

Assembly member Kim stated, “During the Shin-Kori Unit 4 fire incident, although the fire was recognized immediately, notification to the external fire brigade was delayed by 15 minutes compared to the in-house fire brigade, leading to criticism of inadequate response,” and emphasized, "It is necessary to mandate simultaneous reporting to both the nuclear power plant’s in-house fire brigade and the external local fire station not only for actual fires but also for fire signs, and to promptly support the access of external fire personnel to nuclear power plants during dispatch situations.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.