• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2010

There are 11,811 LWR spent fuels stored at reactor sites, as of 2009. Source terms based on reference spent fuel which represents entire spent fuels with bounding values in the aspect of source term has been applied to a design of nuclear installations, instead of those which are generated by weighting respective source term for each spent fuel. Simplified regression models to estimate total decay heat, radioactivity, and ingestion hazard index for spent fuel from Westinghouse-type reactors were developed in this study, because it can be used as a fundamental model for weighting source term for respective spent fuel to exclude conservativeness in source terms. It was found that the estimated source terms agreed with calculated value from ORIGEN-ARP within 5%. It was also found that the conservativeness could be excluded if the weight source terms were used as reference source term in the design. Therefore, it is expected that the developed regression model could be widely used in the conceptual design process of nuclear facilities related with storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.42-58
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• 2001

In order to protect the environment from waste disposal activities, the prediction of the flux and flow paths of the contaminants from underground facilities should be assessed as accurately as possible. Especially, the prediction of the pathways and travel times of the nuclides from high level radioactive wastes in a deep repository to biosphere is one of the primary tasks for assessing the ultimate safety and performance of the repository. Since the contaminants are mainly transported with groundwater along the discontinuities developed within rock mass, the characteristics of groundwater flow through discontinuities is important for the prediction of contaminant fates as well as safety assessment of a repository. In this study, the actual fracture network could be effectively generated based on in situ data by separating geometric parameter and hydraulic parameter. The calculated anisotropic hydraulic conductivity was applied to a 3D porous medium model to calculate the path flow and travel time of the large studied area with the consideration of the complex topology in the area. Using the model, the pathways and travel times for groundwater were analyzed. From this study, it was concluded that the suggested techniques and procedures for predicting the pathways and travel times of groundwater from underground facilities to biosphere is acceptable and those can be applied to the safety assessment of a repository for radioactive wastes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.497-502
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• 2003

Landfill is an widely applied alternative for clearance of non-contaminated waste or slightly contaminated waste generated from nuclear facilities. In this study, exposure dose is estimated for a worker and a resident at the landfill area in Young-gwang nuclear power plant. Based on evaluated dose, clearance concentrations of each radionuclide are determinated for dose criteria of 10 $\muSv/y$. The results of age-dependent dose are 1.02 $\muSv$ per year for resident and 0.471 $\muSv$ per year for worker. Clearance concentrations for each radionuclide are evaluated from $1.33{\times}10_{-1}$ Bq per gram to $2.85{\times}10^2$ Bq per gram.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.301-314
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• 2016

Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources (DSRSs) are stored temporally in the centralized storage facility of Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) and planned to be disposed in the low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) disposal facility in Gyeongju city. In this study, preliminary post-closure safety assessment was performed for DSRSs in order to draw up an optimum disposal plan. Two types of disposal options were considered, i.e. engineered vault type disposal and rock cavern type disposal which were planned to be constructed and operated respectively in LILW disposal facility in Gyeongju city. Assessment end-point was individual effective dose of critical group and calculated by using GoldSim code. In normal scenario, the maximum dose was estimated to be approximately $1{\times}10^{-7}mSv/yr$ for both disposal options. It meant that both options had sufficient safety margin when compared with regulatory limit (0.1 mSv/yr). Otherwise, in well scenario, the maximum dose exceeded regulatory limit of 1 mSv/yr in engineered vault type disposal and the exposure dose was mainly contributed by $^{226}Ra$, $^{210}Pb$ (daughter nuclide of $^{226}Ra$) and $^{237}Np$ (daughter nuclide of $^{241}Am$). For rock cavern type disposal, even though the peak dose satisfied regulatory limit, the exposure doses by $^{14}C$ and $^{237}Np$ were relatively high above 10% of regulatory limit. Therefore, it is necessary to exclude $^{14}C$, $^{226}Ra$ and $^{241}Am$ for two type of disposal options and additional management such as long-term storage and development of disposal container for those radionuclides should be performed before permanent disposal for conservative safety and security.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.515-532
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• 2023

Bentonite, predominantly consists of expandable clay minerals, is considered to be the suitable buffering material in high-level radioactive waste disposal repository due to its large swelling property and low permeability. Additionally, the bentonite has large cation exchange capacity and specific surface area, and thus, it effectively retards the transport of leaked radionuclides to surrounding environments. This study aims to review the thermodynamic sorption models for four radionuclides (U, Am, Se, and Eu) and eight bentonites. Then, the thermodynamic sorption models and optimized sorption parameters were precisely analyzed by considering the experimental conditions in previous study. Here, the optimized sorption parameters showed that thermodynamic sorption models were related to experimental conditions such as types and concentrations of radionuclides, ionic strength, major competing cation, temperature, solid-to-liquid ratio, carbonate species, and mineralogical properties of bentonite. These results implied that the thermodynamic sorption models suggested by the optimization at specific experimental conditions had large uncertainty for application to various environmental conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.35-36
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• 2009

지속가능 에너지원인 원자력은 또한 글로벌 에너지원의 특성을 갖추고 있다 핵연료는 원자로에 장전되는 신규 핵연료를 구성하고 있는 우라늄 채광 단계에서부터 연소 후에 발생하는 사용후 핵연료 (SNF 또는 SF) 관리 단계에 이르는 전과정에 걸쳐 핵연료 사이클로 파악되고 있다. 이러한 전과정 관점에서 볼 때, 핵연료 사이클에 관여하는 이해관계자는 자국뿐만 아니라 다국가 (multination)를 포함하고 있다. 특히, 후행 핵연료 사이클인 사용후 핵연료의 저장, 처리, 처분 단계에서는 다국가 시나리오를 배제하지 않는 사용후 핵연료 관리 전략의 도입이 고려될 수 있다. 여기서 다국가는 접경 국가, 인접 국가, 핵연료 공급 국가, 재처리 제공 국가, 재처리 위탁 국가, SNF 통과 허용 국가, SNF 저장 부지 제공 국가, SNF 향후 이용 국가 등이 될 수 있다 [김성호 2006]. 현재 우리나라에서는 여러 국가로부터 수입되고 있는 신규 핵연료 물질을 연소시켜 나온 사용후 핵연료를 부지내에 임시 저장하고 있다. 사용후 핵연료 발생량의 추산에 따르면, 2016년쯤에 현재 임시저장 용량이 포화될 예정이다 이러한 상황에서 다국가 시나리오를 포함한 관리 전략은 다국가 시나리오를 배제한 관리 전략과 다각적인 측면 에서 비교 검토될 필요성이 있다. 사용후 핵연료의 영구 처분장 부지 확보를 해결하기 위한 선행 단계로 공론화 단계가 지금 준비되고 있다. 예컨대, 단기 공론화 관리 방안의 하나로 비록 소극적인 입장이지만 타국 위탁 재처리 방식이 고려되고 있다 [KRS 2009] 이 연구에서는 단기적인 사용후 핵연료 관리 전략으로 여러 가지 다국가 수준의 저장, 처리, 처분 방식으로 바탕으로 다국가 시나리오들을 제안하려고 한다. 이들 다국가 시나리오를 포함한 관리 전략은 현재 다국가 시나리오를 배제한 국내 사용후 핵연료 처분장 부지 선정이 정치적/사회적 수용성 문제로 어려운 상황에 처할 경우에 해결책을 찾는 데에 기여하리라 본다. 또한, 부지 선정 단계에서 바라지 않는 난항이 나타나는 경우에 국가 차원의 한 대비책으로 다음을 제안한다: 한편으로는 자국 저장 시설이 추진되면서, 다른 편으로는 타국 저장 부지를 확보하는 전략이 검토되어야 한다. 이러한 이중 노선 (dual track) 전략은 여러 유럽 국가에서 이미 고려되고 있는 방안이다 [Greenpeace 2005] 다양한 다국성 정도 (a degree of multinationality) 의 저장, 처리, 처분 방식을 연결하는 가능한 다국가 시나리오 구조가 Fig.1에 제시되어 있다. 다국가 시나리오를 구성하는 기본 요소는 다음과 같다’ 1) 자국 임시 저장; 2) 자국 재처리; 3) 자국 중간 저장; 4) 자국 영구 처분; 5) 다국가 중간 저장; 6) 다국가 재처리; 7 ) 다국가 영구 처분. 이들 기본 요소들을 다국성 정도에 따라 결합하면 다양한 다국가 시나리오들이 얻어진다. 이들을 포함한 SNF 관리 전략은 크게는 1) 다국가 재처리 전략， 2) 다국가 저장 및 재처리 전략， 또는 3) 다국가 처분 전략 등으로 분류될 수 있다.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.41-48
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• 2011

A mobile laser-induced breakdown detection (LIBD) system was developed for the field measurement of the size and concentration of aquatic colloidal nanoparticles sampled from Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute Underground Research Tunnel (KURT). The established LIBD apparatus is based on the optical detection of a laser-induced plasma by means of a two-dimensional optical imaging method for determining the size of nanoparticle. Calibration curve for determining the size of nanoparticle was obtained from the polystyrene reference particles of a well-defined size. The first direct application was made at KURT for investigating the particle sizes in groundwater. By comparing the size of particles in groundwater with the sizes of reference particles, the mean particle size of approximately $108{\pm}26$ nm with the concentration lower than 50 ppb was determined.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.25-39
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• 2022

This study was conducted to evaluate the manufacturing process of non-sintered cement for the safe containment of radioactive waste using low level or ultra-low level radioactive waste soil generated from nuclear-decommissioning facilities, clay minerals, and blast furnace slag (BFS) as an industrial by-product recycling and to characterize the products using mineralogical and morphological analyses. A stepwise approach was used: (1) measuring properties of source materials (reactants), such as waste soil, clay minerals, and BFS, (2) manufacturing the non-sintered cement for the containment of radioactive waste using source materials and deducing the optimal mixing ratio of solidifying and adjusting agents, and (3) conducting mineralogical and morphological analyses of products from the hydration reactions of manufactured non-sintered cement solidifier (NSCS) containing waste concrete generated from nuclear-decommissioning facilities. The analytical results of NSCS using waste soil and clay minerals confirmed none of the hydration products, but calcium silicate (CSH) and ettringite were examined as hydration products in the case of using BFS. The compressive strength of NSCS manufactured with the optimum mixing ratio and using waste soil and clay minerals was 3 MPa after the 28-day curing period, and it was not satisfied with the acceptance criteria (3.44 MPa) for being brought in disposal sites. However, the compressive strength of NSCS using BFS was estimated to be satisfied with the acceptance criteria, despite manufacturing conditions, and it was maximized to 27 MPa at the optimal mixing ratio. The results indicate that the most relevant NSCS for the safe containment of radioactive waste can be manufactured using BFS as solidifying agent and using waste soil and clay minerals as adsorbents for radioactive nuclides.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.228-233
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• 2013

It has been continuously generated the requirement for the replacement of the main components such as a steam generator due to the deterioration of the nuclear power plant all around the world. Also, a large amount of radioactive metal was generated during the decommissioning in a short period. It is required to make an accurate measurement of the residual radioactivity for recycling the metal waste for releasing from regulatory control. In planning the measurement procedures, the influence of geometry, self-absorption, density and other relevant factors on the representativeness of the measurements should be considered for the decommissioning metal waste. In this study, the method for measurement procedures, the source term evaluation, the ways to secure representative samples, the measurement device for wide area and the self-absorption correction factors for different density were evaluated. The metal samples for measurement were prepared for securing the simple geometry and representative by melting process. The developed correction method for measuring the radioactivity a variety density of metal waste could improve the reliability of the evaluation results for clearance.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.107-119
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• 2014

The worldwide Status-of-Art survey for the in-situ experiments of the engineered barrier system for HLW underground disposal was performed as a preliminary action for the design of the in-situ demonstration at KURT. Some nations, which have executed or is ongoing the in-situ experiments at their underground research facilities, were summarized in this review. The demonstration projects reviewed were TBT/Sweden-France, LOT/Sweden, HE-E/Switzerland, PRACLAY/Belgium, FEBEX/Spain, HORONOBE/Japan, and BCE/Canada. The investigated items for the projects were mainly their purposes, constitutional structures, test conditions, monitoring parameters and the measuring tools, and test results. In this review, the hardware design and the assembling of the test system were more concentrated rather than their experimental results, because the purpose of this review is to achieve the necessary information for the practical design of the in-situ experiment to be installed at KURT. A mid scale in-situ demonstration of EBS at KURT, that is called IN-DBES, will be launched right after the completion the expanding project of KURT in 2015. It is hoped that the structural design, installing methods, hardware equipments required in the establishment of IN-DEBS will be referred on this review.