[2020 National Audit] "Power Plant Thermal Discharge, Marine Ecosystem Damage... 40 Billion Tons Released This Year Alone"

Cooling Water for Power Plant Equipment Heats Up... Water Temperature Rises by 7.2℃
Half of This Year's Discharge from Nuclear Power Plants... Hanul Nuclear Power Plant 5.6 Billion Tons
Assemblyman Kim Jeong-ho "Regulations on Emission Standards Must Be Established"

Reference photo [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] It has been revealed that water used as cooling water for power plant facilities raises sea temperatures, causing damage to marine ecosystems and fisheries production. The amount of warm water discharged from power plants reached 40 billion tons this year alone. There are calls for regulations including standards for warm water discharge.

According to the 'Power Plant Warm Water Discharge Status' data submitted on the 22nd by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and five power companies to Kim Jung-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Business Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the amount of warm water discharged from power plants from January to August this year was recorded at 39.925 billion tons.

Warm water from power plants refers to water used and discharged to cool heat generated during the process of fossil fuel or nuclear power generation such as coal or gas. It was found that the water was discharged at an average temperature 7.2℃ higher after cooling the heat from the power generation facilities.

Among this year's discharge volume, 49.7% (19.8 billion tons) was discharged from nuclear power plants. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's Hanul Nuclear Power Plant discharged 5.625 billion tons, the highest among 27 sites.

Claims of damage caused by warm water from power plants are also significant. Fishermen in Gijang-gun, Busan, where the Kori Nuclear Power Plant is located, are complaining about damage caused by warm water discharged from the Kori Nuclear Power Plant. Residents of Hampyeong-gun, where the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant is located, stated, "Hampyeong Bay is only about 30 km away from the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant, and the marine ecosystem in the local sea has been completely destroyed due to warm water discharged from the nuclear power plant."

According to a 2000 Supreme Court precedent, in a lawsuit against Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, it was partially recognized that the mass death of flatfish and abalone farmed by the victims was due to a sudden rise in the temperature of the aquaculture tanks caused by warm water discharged from the Uljin Nuclear Power Plant.

Currently, there are no legal regulations such as standards for warm water discharge from power plants. In advanced countries overseas, some present self-regulatory measures such as warm water discharge temperature regulations considering the characteristics of the sea areas where power plants are located and the impact on marine ecosystems.

Power subsidiaries have also introduced policies to utilize warm water from power plants for aquaculture, but the results have been poor. According to warm water utilization status data, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power utilizes warm water at only 2 of its 5 nuclear power plants, and this year's utilization volume was only about 0.002% of the discharge volume. Korea Western Power also utilized only 0.07% compared to the 6.56 billion tons of warm water discharged last year.

Assemblyman Kim Jung-ho emphasized, "Standards for warm water discharge should be promptly established to prevent ecological disruption caused by rapid temperature changes," adding, "Management of warm water discharge, which is the cause of temperature rise, must be thorough to proceed in line with the direction of energy transition policies."