Bill to limit nuke plant development put forth in National Assembly

Posted on : 2012-09-24 15:10 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
If passed, the bill would keep nuclear plants out of the most densely populated areas

By Kim Kwang-soo, Busan correspondent

A group of lawmakers is putting forth a revision to the Nuclear Safety Act to the National Assembly that would prohibit the construction of nuclear power plants within a 30-kilometer radius of more than 50 thousand residents.

Rep. Cho Kyung-tae of the Democratic United Party (DUP) along with 11 co-signatories (Reps. Kim Sang-hee, Won Hae-young, Bae Jae-jeong, Kim Ki-shik, Lee Won-uk, Shim Jae-won of the DUP and independents Kim Jae-nam, Park Won-seok, Chung Jin-hu, Shim Sang-jeong, and Roh Hoe-chan) drafted a revision to the Nuclear Safety Act and submitted it on Sept. 21 in the country’s top legislative body.

The proposal stipulates “a nuclear power plant and related facilities must be located more than 30 kilometers away from of an area with a population over 50 thousand people.” Current regulation does not contain a specific standard for the location of a nuclear plant. The supplementary provision states that the law would be enforced from the day of its promulgation but that it will also apply to sites where construction of nuclear plants are either being planned or have been applied for.

If the revision is adopted by the Assembly, places where construction of nuclear power plants had been either applied for or have been approved will have to be reconsidered. This will include reactors number 5 and 6 in Shingo-ri in Kijang, Busan where there is a population of 3.5 million people living within 30 kilometers. Shin Uljin in Uljin City, North Gyeongsang province, where reactors 3 and 4 were being considered also has a population of 60 thousand people living within a radius of 30 kilometers.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy had been considering two cities for reactor number 2, Young-duk in North Gyeongsang Province and Sam-cheok in Gangwon province. Of the two, Young-duk may be a better candidate since it has a population of 40 thousand living within a radius of 30 kilometers while Sam-cheok has 70 thousand people. Cities where permits have already been granted and constructions are underway will not be affected by the revision. They include five reactors in Shinwolseong, Shingo-ri and Shin Uljin.

Rep. Cho, the main sponsor of the draft revision said, “Even after seeing the enormous accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011, the government is continuing to pursue the construction of more nuclear reactors in Korea.”

He added, “I wanted to provide the groundwork for an environment that will be safe for future generations. That is the reason behind this revision.”

 

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