Korea approves decommissioning of 1st commercial nuclear reactor

Korea has approved the decommissioning of the country's first commercial nuclear reactor, the now-defunct Kori-1 unit, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) said Thursday, also marking its first-ever decommissioning of a reactor. Unit 1 of the Kori nuclear power plant, located in the southeastern city of Busan, was permanently shut down in June 2017 after operating for about 40 years since April 1978. In May last year, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) began chemical decontamination to remove radioactive materials from the reactor, marking a crucial first step in the decommissioning process. The KHNP said the successful dismantling of the Kori-1 reactor will be significant for the nuclear and related industries as it will open up new business opportunities in the global reactor decommissioning market. "The full dismantling of the Kori-1 reactor is expected to take 12 years due to challenges related to the construction of spent nuclear fuel storage facilities," an NSSC official said. According to the review by the commission, KHNP operates three dedicated decommissioning unitsWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times