A heavy water leak has been reported at a nuclear power facility in South Korea.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, the incident occurred at the fourth reactor of the Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant, located in the city of Gyeongju, due to a technical malfunction.
The state-owned operator, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), notified relevant authorities of the incident at 14:26 local time. Preliminary assessments indicate that approximately 208 kilograms of heavy water leaked from the system.
Officials stated that the leak was contained within the facility grounds, and no increase in radiation levels has been detected in the surrounding environment. Company representatives confirmed that following the detection of the malfunction, pumps at the fourth reactor—which had been offline since July of last year for scheduled maintenance—were immediately shut down.
An investigation into the cause of the incident is currently underway.
Heavy water, which contains the deuterium isotope instead of standard hydrogen, is a specialized fluid used in certain types of nuclear reactors to safely regulate the energy production process. The Wolsong plant, which utilizes CANDU-type reactors, relies on heavy water as both a coolant and a neutron moderator.
