Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has teamed up with Canadian reactor designer Candu Energy for collaboration in nuclear power plant decommissioning projects.

KHNP and Candu Energy will share technology and information on reactor decommissioning including treatment of hazardous radioactive waste, said KHNP on Tuesday. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday (local time in Canada).

Candu Energy is a nuclear reactor designer and supplier under Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin with expertise in decommissioning nuclear power plants. It owns core technology related to Candu, a pressurized heavy-water reactor design for generating electric power.

KHNP has teamed up with Candu Energy to safely retire the Wolsong 1 nuclear power plant, South Korea’s second-oldest reactor that started commercial operation in 1983. Its permanent shutdown was approved in late 2019.

KHNP plans to immediately dismantle Wolsong 1 instead of a lengthy procedure.

When decommissioning a heavy-water nuclear reactor like Wolsong 1, reactor usually is left shut down for more than 60 years to have radiation fall to a certain level. Wolsong 1 would be the first heavy-water reactor to be immediately decommissioned.

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