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Korean anti-nuclear activists hold a demonstration in front of the Nuclear Safety Commission building. The protesters’ signs mention nuclear crisis in Three Mile Island

By Kim Kwang-soo, Busan correspondent

Plans developed by local governments to minimize radiation damage from nuclear power plants are far behind the US and other countries in their effectiveness, according to Greenpeace.

The international environmental group issued a report Thursday comparing and analyzing radiation prevention plans based on information from web sites in major nuclear countries and other sources. According to the report, “The emergency zones operated by local governments for the areas around South Korea’s Gori, Wolseong, Uljin, and Yeonggwang nuclear power plants were found to be in dereliction of the recommended International Atomic Energy Agency standards.”

`Emergency zones’ are regions designated for mandatory resident evacuation area operation, issuance of protective gear such as gas masks, and evacuation drills to prepare for a possible leak of radiation from a nearby power plant, as with the March 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant disaster in Japan.

According to the IAEA’s emergency zone recommendations, countries with nuclear power plants should operate three types of areas: a precautionary action zone where residents are immediately evacuated in the event of a nuclear power plant accident (a radius of 0 to 5 km from the plant); an urgent protective action planning zone where residents must evacuate and receive medication and gas masks once a radiation leak has been confirmed (5 to 30 km); and a food restriction zone where residents are advised not to eat food that may have been contaminated by radiation (50 to 300 km).

But areas such as Busan’s Gijang Country, North Gyeongsang province’s Gyeongju and Uljin County, and South Jeolla province’s Yeonggwang County, which together have 21 reactors currently in operation, don't have the three types of areas. Instead, the emergency zones are lumped together into a single region within 8 to 10 km of the nuclear power plant.

The emergency zones were also found to be too small. The US designated a 16 km radius around its plants as a precautionary action zone, while including all areas within a 80 km radius in a food restriction zone. The US operates 104 nuclear reactors, the most of any country. Japan, like South Korea, designates emergency zones of 8 to 10 km from the plant, but is currently pushing to increase this to 30 km in the wake of the Fukushima accident.

The 4.04 million South Koreans living within 30 km of a nuclear power plant represent the world’s third largest such population, after Pakistan's 8.35 million and Taiwan’s 4.69 million. At the time of the Fukushima accident, the Japanese government ordered residents within 30 km of the plant to evacuate or remain indoors.

But with Pakistan operating just one reactor for research use and Taiwan two for commercial use, South Korea currently ranks first for population density relative to nuclear power generated, with 21 reactors in commercial operation.

South Korea also currently has only enough thyroid medication for 186,000 people. This medication must be taken within five hours of radiation exposure to reduce harm.

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power has announced plans to obtain enough medication for 666,000 people by October, but even this would leave out 3.4 million of the 4.04 million people living within 30 km of nuclear power plants.

In contrast, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Poland all have enough thyroid medication for everyone in the country. Belgium, which ranks first in the world for nuclear power facilities per square kilometer, has pharmacies providing the medication to residents living within 20 km of a plant. France also uses pharmacies to provide the medication for free to all residents living within 10 km of a nuclear power plant, and even distributes it by mail to those who do not pick it up within a designated time period.

"There were 120,000 people living within 30 km of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant when the accident occurred, but South Korea has 4.04 million," said Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner Seo Hyeong-rim. “And the plants are all clustered together, so the scale of damage in the event of an accident would be enormous.

"If we can't close all the nuclear power plants that are currently running, then we need to hurry up and take active steps by increasing the size of our emergency zones," Seo said.

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