A “heavy water” leak occurred at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in South Korea, but no radiation-related issues were detected.
elchi reports that a leak occurred at the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant in Gyeongju, South Korea.
South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission announced that a leak of “heavy water,” which is water with a high concentration of the heavy hydrogen (deuterium) isotope instead of hydrogen, occurred at the plant’s No. 4 reactor. It was reported that the state-owned Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) company notified the authorities about the leak on Wednesday at approximately 14:26 local time, and the amount of leaked “heavy water” is estimated to be about 208 kilograms.
It was emphasized that the leak did not reach outside the plant and no anomalies were detected in the external radiation levels around the facility. KHNP announced that immediately after the leak was detected, the relevant pumps in the No. 4 reactor, which had been shut down since July of last year as part of regular inspections, were closed. A detailed investigation into the incident has been launched.
What is heavy water?
“Heavy water,” a special type of water that contains the heavy hydrogen (deuterium) isotope instead of hydrogen and is about 10 percent denser than normal water, is used in some nuclear power plants to keep energy-generating reactions at a safe and controlled level.
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