South Korea shuts down nuclear reactor due to warning signal alert

South Korea shut down one of its nuclear reactors on the east coast Tuesday after a warning signal went off indicating a possible problem, the country's atomic energy operator said, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corp. (KHNP) said the 950,000 kilowatt Hanul No. 1 was shut down at 11:39 a.m. after a "reactor warning light" went off at the plant located in Uljin, some 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

It said preliminary checks showed no radioactive contamination near the reactor and that there is no immediate problem with the integrity of the reactor or the Hanul Nuclear Power Plant as a whole that has a total of six reactors.

"The alarm light can go off if there is something really wrong with the reactor, or in the case of faulty sensors," the KHNP said. It said built-in systems at the plant automatically shut down the affected reactor as a precautionary measure.

It said an emergency response team has been sent to check the reactor in detail and find out what caused the problem.

Source: MENA