South Korea shuts down reactors for falsified safety certifications

New York Times : On Tuesday, South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission shut down two nuclear reactors and delayed the startup of two othersâmdash;one under construction and the other undergoing routine maintenance. Prompted by an anonymous whistleblower, inspectors found that the reactors’ control cables, which are used to signal the reactor control systems in case of an accident, had failed their safety tests but were given certificates anyway. With those 4 reactors shut down, only 13 of South Korea’s 23 reactors are still operating. As a result, the commission expects electricity shortages during the summer. Despite several recent scandals suffered by the country’s nuclear power industry, the government is pushing ahead with a plan to add 16 more reactors by 2030.