Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) yesterday apologized for a human error that caused a reactor of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shimen District (石門) to shut down unexpectedly.
Reactor No. 2 of the plant was shut down on Thursday last week due to high water levels in the reactor, which Taipower said was caused by human error.
An employee accidentally turned off a power switch during a power transfer operation, resulting in extra cooling water entering the reactor and raising the water level above normal levels, which triggered an emergency shutdown, Taipower said.
The emergency shutdown is a programmed reaction in response to system anomalies to prevent system breakdown, it said.
The reactor was stable and there was no radiation leak, Taipower said, calling on the public not to worry.
“Taipower is deeply sorry about the incident and is planning to revise safety measures to prevent such incidents in the future,” the state-run company said.
The employee has been disciplined with a salary reduction of NT$20,000 (US$608) per month and has been transferred to a different post.
The employees’ superiors have also been turned over to a disciplinary committee.
The reactor was restarted on Monday night after the Atomic Energy Council completed a safety inspection and approved the company’s restart plan, while the reactor was expected to run at its full capacity today.
Green Citizens’ Action Alliance deputy secretary-general Hung Shen-han (洪申翰) said an emergency shutdown is the last defense of the reactor’s safety system, which is just a step away from system failure and should not be taken lightly.
“The employee is not a rookie, but a senior technician with 30 years of experience, so the incident might represent not simply an individual error, but a systemic flaw,” Hung said.
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