The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (Chairman Choi Won-ho, hereinafter referred to as NSSC) received a report from KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd. at 10:34 a.m. on the 9th that uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas had leaked inside the facility at Nuclear Fuel Building 3. Uranium hexafluoride is a gaseous uranium compound that exhibits both radioactive and chemical toxicity.
KEPCO Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd. reported that the gas leaked due to insufficient sealing of the maintenance area during the maintenance of the uranium conversion furnace. They immediately shut off the gas supply line valve to prevent further leakage.
The NSSC Daejeon Regional Office checked the site safety and confirmed that there was no radioactive leakage outside the facility and no personnel were present at the site, thus no casualties occurred.
The NSSC dispatched an investigation team composed of experts from the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) to the site, and the team plans to conduct a thorough investigation, including analyzing the root cause of the incident.