Nuclear facilities unaffected by 3.1-magnitude earthquake

All nuclear reactor facilities in Korea remain safe following a magnitude 3.1 earthquake near Haenam County, South Jeolla, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission said on Sunday.

The closest reactor facility to the epicenter was the Hanbit Nuclear Power Site, about 83.2 kilometers (52 miles) away. Seismic instruments at the plant recorded ground acceleration of 0.0032g — g being a unit that measures shaking relative to the pull of Earth’s gravity — far below its seismic design standard of 0.2g. The reading was too low to affect the facility, the commission added.

An emergency safety inspection conducted at the Hanbit plant by the local authority also found no abnormalities.

Seismic readings at other nuclear facilities were similarly low.

The Kori Nuclear Power Plant recorded 0.0016g, followed by Saeul at 0.0004g, Wolsong at 0.0002g, Hanul at 0.0008g and the research reactor Hanaro at 0.0001g.

The magnitude 3.1 earthquake struck at around 6:43 a.m. on Sunday, 21 kilometers west-northwest of Haenam County, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. It was the strongest earthquake recorded on the Korean Peninsula and in surrounding waters this year.

The epicenter was located at 34.66 degrees north latitude and 126.4 degrees east longitude. The tremor is estimated to have occurred at a depth of 21 kilometers.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]