South Korean nuclear reactor to be restarted despite concerns

Nature : South Korea’s oldest nuclear power plant, which was shut down in March because of a power failure, will be restarted by 3 August. The plan to reopen faces opposition from residents in the nearby city of Busan who believe that the plant is no longer safe. An inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after the power failure revealed that Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, the reactor’s operator, neglected the safety issue for more than a month after the outage occurred. However, despite the local residents’ concerns, both the IAEA and Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission have approved a restart because a heat wave has strained the national energy supply.