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Czech Temelin plant loads fuel into 2nd reactor



Index:



Czech Temelin plant loads fuel into 2nd reactor

South Korean power firm urges workers to end strike

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Czech Temelin plant loads fuel into 2nd reactor

  

PRAGUE, March 11 (Reuters) - The Czech Temelin nuclear power plant, whose 

operation is strongly opposed by Austria, said on Monday that it has completed 

loading fuel into its second 981 megawatt (MW) reactor. 



Temelin's owner, state-owned power utility CEZ (CEZPsp.PR), has been testing the 

plant's first 981 MW reactor since late 2000 amid fierce protests from neighbouring 

Austria which fears the plant is unsafe and should be closed. 



Temelin spokesman Milan Nebesar said all 163 fuel units had been installed into the 

second reactor, which would be checked by international nuclear safety regulators 

later on Monday. 



A controlled nuclear fission reaction is expected to be activated within six weeks. 



The Soviet-designed station, which has been upgraded with western control systems, 

is located 60 km (38 miles) from the border of the fiercely anti-nuclear Austria. 



This has made Temelin a source of unrelenting friction between the two central 

European neighbours. The EU, however, has said the plant is not an issue in the 

Czechs' drive to join the 15-nation bloc, expected in 2004. 

------------------



South Korean power firm urges workers to end strike

  

SEOUL, March 11 (Reuters) - South Korea's power monopoly vowed on Monday to 

show leniency if unionised workers abandoned an outlawed strike entering its third 

week but the unionists rejected the promise as a transparent ploy. 



Workers at state-run Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) <15760.KS> walked out 

on February 25 to protest against plans to start privatising power affiliates. 



Unions fear job cuts and electricity price rises. The government says it will not back 

down on privatisation, a key policy aim for President Kim Dae-jung's team as the 

economy picks up and a presidential election looms in December. 



All but 1,000 of the union's 5,600 members remained on strike on Monday, KEPCO 

said. 



"We will minimise punishment for those coming back to work voluntarily," KEPCO 

spokesman Park Jong-nam said by telephone. The company would minimise 

threatened sackings and pay cuts and urge prosecutors to go as lightly as the law 

allowed. 



Government officials have vowed to be tough with the strike organisers. In line with 

this, KEPCO said it would seek court action against the unions to make up for losses 

from the walkout. 



UNION DISMISSES "CARROT-AND-STICK" TACTICS 



KEPCO asked the Seoul District Court to seize union workers' wages, severance pay 

and deposits to make up for the losses, a KEPCO official said. KEPCO is seeking 6.2 

billion won ($4.75 million) compensation. 



The company estimated losses at 11.5 billion won up to March 10. KEPCO said its 

losses stemmed from hiring part-time workers to avert power disruptions, rather than 

from energy losses. 



Union leaders dismissed the twin-track approach as "carrot-and-stick" tactics. 



"We don't trust management. We know they will punish us at the end of strike," said 

Ryu In-kwan, a leader of KEPCO union. 



"If they really want to end the strike, they should withdraw the plan to sell power 

plants first," he told Reuters at his refuge in Myongdong Cathedral in central Seoul. 



On Saturday, police stormed a major Buddhist temple in Seoul and following a 

struggle with monks arrested five power unionists among the 50 striking workers 

holed up there. 



Government plans call for selling power stations, excluding nuclear plants, to private 

operators beginning this year. 



Union leader Lee Ho-dong told Reuters on Friday the strike could trigger "power 

chaos" as both sides stood firm. 



Other union leaders have said privatisation could cause long-term electricity price 

rise as KEPCO, in private hands, was unlikely to keep up investment because of 

slow returns. 



"It will be not too late if we privatise the power company after weighing all the 

possible dangers lurking in the government plan," said Sohn Nark-koo, a spokesman 

for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which has some 500,000 members. 



($1=1304.3 won) 





***************************************************************

Sandy Perle				Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100  

Director, Technical			Extension 2306 			

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Service	Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                

ICN Pharmaceuticals, Inc.		E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 	

ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  	E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          

Costa Mesa, CA 92626



Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com

ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com



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