• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.530-545
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• 2023

As an alternative to conventional management options for a lot of concrete waste from decommissioning of nuclear power plants, a set of scenarios for controlled recycling of decommissioning concrete waste as engineered barriers of a radioactive waste repository was proposed, and a comprehensive safety assessment model and framework covering both pre-and post-closure phases was newly developed. The new methodology was applied to a reference vault-type repository, and the ratios of derived concentration limits to unconditional clearance levels of eighteen radionuclides for controlled recycling were provided for three sets of dose criteria (0.01, 1, and 20 mSv/y for the pre-closure and 0.01 mSv/y for the post-closure phases). It turns out that decommissioning concrete waste whose concentration is much higher than the unconditional clearance level can be recycled even when the dose criterion 0.01 mSv/y is applied. Moreover, a case study on ABWR bio-shield shows that the fraction of recyclable concrete waste increases significantly by increasing the dose criterion for the radiation worker in the pre-closure phase or the duration of storage prior to recycling. The results of this study are expected to contribute to demonstrating the feasibility of controlled recycling of a lot of decommissioning concrete waste within nuclear sectors.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.389-403
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• 2019

Large amounts of concrete waste are likely to arise from the decommissioning of a Kori-1 nuclear power plant. Several studies have been conducted on decommissioning concrete waste in recent decades, however, they have been limited to contaminated concrete issues or were small pilot-scale experiments. This study constructed two industrial-scale models of on-site concrete waste management for clean as well as contaminated concrete. To evaluate the performance of both the models, simulations were conducted using the Flexsim software. The concrete particle size distribution of Kori-1 and concrete processor properties based on widely used construction equipment were used as sources of input data for the simulations. It was observed that it may take over two years to complete the on-site concrete management processes owing to the performance of existing processors. In addition, it was demonstrated that it is essential to identify bottlenecks in the system and enhance the performance of the relevant processors to avoid delays of the decommissioning schedule. Our results suggest that this novel approach can contribute to developing schedules or expediting delayed activities in the Kori-1 decommissioning project.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2022

The decommissioning of a nuclear power plant generates large amounts of radioactive waste, which is of several types. Radioactive concrete powder is classified as low-level waste, which can be disposed of in a landfill. However, its safe disposal in a landfill requires that it be immobilized by solidification using cement. Herein, a safety assessment on the disposal of solidified radioactive concrete powder waste in a conceptual landfill site is performed using RESRAD. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses of certain selected input parameters are conducted to investigate their impact on exposure doses. The exposure doses are estimated, and the relative impact of each pathway on them during the disposal of this waste is assessed. The results of this study can be used to obtain information for designing a landfill site for the safe disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated from the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.99-110
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• 2022

In decommissioning a nuclear power plant, numerous concrete structures need to be demolished and decontaminated. Although concrete decontamination technologies have been developed globally, concrete cutting remains problematic due to the secondary waste production and dispersion risk from concrete scabbling. To minimize workers' radiation exposure and secondary waste in dismantling and decontaminating concrete structures, the following conceptual designs were developed. A micro-blast type scabbling technology using explosive materials and a multi-dimensional contamination measurement and artificial intelligence (AI) mapping technology capable of identifying the contamination status of concrete surfaces. Trials revealed that this technology has several merits, including nuclide identification of more than 5 nuclides, radioactivity measurement capability of 0.1-10⁷ Bq·g^-1, 1.5 kg robot weight for easy handling, 10 cm robot self-running capability, 100% detonator performance, decontamination factor (DF) of 100 and 8,000 cm²·hr^-1 decontamination speed, better than that of TWI (7,500 cm²·hr^-1). Hence, the micro-blast type scabbling technology is a suitable method for concrete decontamination. As the Korean explosives industry is well developed and robot and mapping systems are supported by government research and development, this scabbling technology can efficiently aid the Korean decommissioning industry.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.217-225
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• 2020

Concrete waste accounts for approximately 70~80% of the total waste generated during the decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Based upon the concentration of each radionuclide, the concrete waste from the decommissioning can be used in the determination of the clearance threshold used to classify waste as radioactive. To reduce the cost of radioactive concrete waste disposal, it is important to perform decontamination before self-disposal or limited recycling. Therefore, it is necessary to estimate the internal radioactivity distribution of radioactive concrete waste to ensure effective decontamination. In this study, the performance metrics of various Compton reconstruction algorithms were compared in order to identify the best strategy to estimate the internal radioactivity distribution in concrete waste during the decommissioning of NPPs. Four reconstruction algorithms, namely, simple back-projection, filtered back-projection, maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM), and energy-deconvolution MLEM (E-MLEM) were used as Compton reconstruction algorithms. Subsequently, the results obtained by using these various reconstruction algorithms were compared with one another and evaluated, using quantitative evaluation methods. The MLEM and E-MLEM reconstruction algorithms exhibited the best performance in maintaining a high image resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), respectively. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of using Compton images in the estimation of the internal radioactive distribution of concrete during the decommissioning of NPPs.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.355-367
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• 2017

The decommissioning of Kori unit 1, which was permanently shut down in June of 2017, will be the first instance of the dismantling of a commercial nuclear power plant in Korea. The disposal of waste during the dismantling process accounts for a large part of the total decommissioning cost. Therefore, structures consisting of activated and contaminated concrete must be economically and safely dismantled by establishing a proper dismantling strategy. This study focuses on optimized dismantling and disposal scenarios pertaining to a biological shield. Several dismantling cases, regulations and technologies related to waste treatment as these practices pertain to nuclear power plants are analyzed. To minimize the amount of waste from the biological shield dismantling process, an optimized dismantling scenario is presented and disposal alternatives for dismantled concrete waste are proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.7
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• pp.2261-2267
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• 2021

This paper evaluates the efficacy of magnesium potassium phosphate cements (MKPCs) as waste forms for the solidification of radioactive concrete powder wastes produced by the decommissioning of nuclear power plants. MKPC specimens that contained up to 50 wt% of simulated concrete powder wastes (SCPWs) were evaluated. We measured the porosity and compressive strength of the MKPC specimens, observing them using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The addition of SCPWs reduced the porosity and increased the compressive strength of the MKPC specimens. Struvite-K crystals were well-synthesized, and no additional crystal phase was formed. After thermal cycling and after immersion, MKPC specimens with 50 wt% SCPWs satisfied the waste-acceptance criteria (WAC) for compressive strength. Semi-dynamic leaching tests were performed using the ANS 16.1 method; the leachability indices of Cs, Co, and Sr were 11.45, 17.63, and 15.66, respectively, which also satisfy the WAC. Thus, MKPCs can provide stable matrices to immobilize radioactive concrete wastes generated by the decommissioning of nuclear power plants.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.349-356
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• 2022

Nuclear power plant decommissioning generates significant concrete waste, which is slightly contaminated, and expected to be classified as clearance concrete waste. Clearance concrete waste is generally crushed into rubble at the site or a satellite treatment facility for practical disposal purposes. During the process, workers are exposed to radiation from the nuclides in concrete waste. The treatment processes consist of concrete cutting/crushing, transportation, and loading/unloading. Workers' radiation exposure during the process was systematically studied. A shielding package comprising a cylindrical and hexahedron structure was considered to reduce workers' radiation exposure, and improved the treatment process's efficiency. The shielding package's effect on workers' radiation exposure during the cutting and crushing process was also studied. The calculated annual radiation exposure of concrete treatment workers was below 1 mSv, which is the annual radiation exposure limit for members of the public. It was also found that workers involved in cutting and crushing were exposed the most.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.02a
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• pp.96-105
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• 2004

The decommissioning project of the KRR 1 & 2 was started in January 1997. The actual decommissioning activity was started at the RI production facility and was finished at the end of 2002. The dismantling works of all components including the reactor structure of the KRR-2 was started in January, 2003 and will be carried out for 2 years till the end of 2004. The project schedule is estimated to delay for 4∼5 months beyond the original plan because of delaying on the cutting of thermal column nose and removal of the graphite bricks, but it may be caught up during the removal working of concrete from biological shielding structure. This paper summarizes the general status of the KRR 1 & 2 and decommissioning activities.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.511-521
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• 2022

Decommissioning of nuclear power plants generates a large amount of radioactive waste in a short period. Moreover, Radioactive waste has various forms including a large volumes of metal, concrete, and solid waste. The disposal of decommissioning waste using 200 L drums is inefficient in terms of economics, work efficiency, and radiation safety. Therefore, The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency is developing large containers for the packaging, transportation, and disposal of decommissioning waste. Assessing disposability considering the characteristics of the radioactive waste and facility, convenience of operation, and safety of workers is necessary. In this study, the exposure dose rate of workers during the disposal of new containers was evaluated using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code. Six normal and four abnormal scenarios were derived for the assessment of the dose rate in a near surface disposal facility operation. The results showed that the calculated dose rates in all normal scenarios were lower than the direct exposure dose limitation of workers in the safety analysis report. In abnormal scenarios, the work hours with dose rates below 20 mSv·y^-1 were calculated. The results of this study will be useful in establishing the optimal radiation work conditions.