Korea: Nuclear reactor shut down for safety reasons

Reactor 6 at Younggwang Nuclear Power Plant in South Jeolla province was shut down again on July 30 due to a malfunctioning reactor rod.

The reactor rod functions as a safety shield for reactors. The basic structure of a reactor can be simplified as follows: heat is produced when neutrons come into contact with uranium, and that heat turns the turbines to generate electricity.

The main challenge of reactor safety is keeping that fission stable. The Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear accident in history, occurred because the reactor rods were removed quickly, which stimulated fission. The repeated problems with Younggwang reactor 6 have residents in the area nervous. Reactor 6 first broke down during a 2002 trial run.

Since then, it has gone out of action 9 times in past 10 years. Among those cases, some were trivial, due to lightning strikes and a mistake on operation. But in Dec. 2008, the reactor was stopped because warning signals appeared, indicating the reactor rod was in the wrong position.

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