• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.439-455
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• 2020

Numerical model was developed that simulates radionuclide (3H and 14C) transport modeling at the 2nd phase facility at the Wolsong LILW Disposal Center. Four scenarios were simulated with different assumptions about the integrity of the components of the barrier system. For the design case, the multi-barrier system was shown to be effective in diverting infiltration water around the vaults containing radioactive waste. Nevertheless, the volatile radionuclide 14C migrates outside the containment system and through the unsaturated zone, driven by gas diffusion. 3H is largely contained within the vaults where it decays, with small amounts being flushed out in the liquid state. Various scenarios were examined in which the integrity of the cover barrier system or that of the concrete were compromised. In the absence of any engineered barriers, 3H is washed out to the water table within the first 20 years. The release of 14C by gas diffusion is suppressed if percolation fluxes through the facility are high after a cover failure. However, the high fluxes lead to advective transport of 14C dissolved in the liquid state. The concrete container is an effective barrier, with approximately the same effectiveness as the cover.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.347-357
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• 2023

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S. NRC) specifies regulations on obtaining licenses and describes the technical position on the average waste concentration, also known as Concentration Averaging and Encapsulation Branch Technical Position (CA BTP); CA BTP helps classify blendable waste and discrete items and address concentration averaging. The technical position details are reviewed and compared in a real environment in Korea. A few cases of concentration averaging based on the application of CA BTP to domestic radioactive waste are presented, and the feasibility of the application is assessed. The radioactive waste considered herein does not satisfy the Disposal Concentration Limit (DCL) of the second-phase disposal facility while applying the preliminary classification. However, if CA BTP is applied when the radioactive waste is mixed with other radioactive waste items in a large and heavy container, it can be disposed of at the second-phase disposal facility in Gyeongju Repository. To apply the CA BTP of the U.S. NRC, it is necessary to investigate the safety assessment conditions of the US and Korea.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.219-230
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• 2017

This study was conducted to predict and evaluate the uncertainty of safety after closure of the second phase surface disposal facility of the Gyeongju intermediate and low level repository in Korea. In this study, four scenarios are developed considering both intact and degraded states of multi-layered covers and disposal containers; also, the fluid flow by a rainfall into the disposal facility is simulated. The rainfall conditions are implemented based on the monthly average data of the past 30 years (1985~2014); the simulation period is 300 years, the management period regulated by institutional provisions. As a result of the evaluation of the basic scenario, in which the integrity of both of the containers and the covers is maintained, it was confirmed that penetration of rainfall does not completely saturate the inside of the disposal facility. It is revealed that the multiple cover layers and concrete containers effectively play the role of barrier against the permeation of rainfall.