• 한국방사성폐기물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국방사성폐기물학회 2011년도 추계학술논문요약집
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• pp.541-541
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• 2011

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제9권4호
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• pp.231-236
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• 2011

지난 2011년 3월의 후쿠시마 원전 사고시 원자로 건물에서의 연쇄적인 수소폭발이 발생하였을 때 관계자들은 제1원전 4호기의 폭발에 더욱 놀랐었는데 이는 그 당시 4호기는 정기보수를 위하여 원자로내 모든 핵연료를 저장조에 보관중이었기 때문이다. 저장조내 냉각수 유실로 노심에서 옮겨진 핵연료가 공기 중에 노출되어 수소가 발생하고 임계가 도달하였다면 더욱 심각할 수도 있기 때문이었는데 다행히 추후에 양호한 냉각수 상태가 확인되어 우려할 상황을 피할 수 있었다. 본 논문에서는 후쿠시마 원전 사고를 계기로 국내 원자력 발전소내 핵연료 임시 저장시설의 안전성과 관련하여 중대사고 관점에서 검토해 보고자 한다.

• 한국콘텐츠학회논문지
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• 제19권6호
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• pp.222-235
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• 2019

2011년 발생한 후쿠시마 원전사고 이후 국제사회에서 원자력정책은 침체기에 접어들었으나 우리나라는 박근혜 정부까지 약 60여 년 동안 친원전 정책을 유지하는 경로의존성을 보여주었다. 하지만 2017년 탈원전 정책을 공약으로 내세운 문재인 정부 출범 이후 기존의 친원전 정책은 경로의존성에서 이탈하는 양상을 보이게 되었다. 본 연구는 역사적 제도주의를 중심으로 2008년 이명박 정부 시기부터 2018년 문재인 정부 까지 한국의 원자력정책 변동 과정을 고찰하였다. 연구결과 후쿠시마 원전 사고라는 외부 환경은 중대한 전환점이 되어 정부의 원자력 정책의 변동을 초래하였다. 제도적 맥락 측면에서 원자력정책의 패러다임, 정책결정구조, 법령 등에 영향을 미쳤고 행위자 측면에서도 정치 이념 및 국민 수용성에 영향을 주었다. 2017년 문재인 정부출범 이후 탈원전 정책이 제도적 기반을 확보하고 기존의 친원전 정책에서 탈원전으로 근본적인 정책 변동이 이루어지게 되었다. 이를 통해 문재인 정부의 에너지 정책은 이전 정부들의 원전 중심의 경로의존성에서 벗어나 단절적 균형이 발생하였고 재생에너지 중심으로 정책이 변동되었음을 확인할 수 있었다.

• 한국방사성폐기물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국방사성폐기물학회 2018년도 춘계학술논문요약집
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• pp.357-358
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• 2018

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.2-10
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• 2020

Background: Huge amounts of radionuclides were released into the environment due to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, which caused not only serious contamination on the ground, but also radiation exposure to the public. One problem that remains in performing the dose estimation is the difficulty of estimating the internal thyroid dose due to the intake of radioiodine (mainly, ¹³¹I) because of limitations to the human data available. Materials and Methods: The relevant papers were collected and reviewed by the authors. The results of thyroid dose estimates from different studies were tabulated for comparison. Results and Discussion: The thyroid dose estimates from the studies varied widely. The dose estimates by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation were higher than the others due to the ingestion dose being based on conservative assumptions. The dose estimates by Japanese experts were mostly below 20-30 mSv. The recent studies suggested that exposure on March 12, 2011 would be crucial for late evacuees from the areas near the FD-NPP because of the possible intake of short-lived radionuclides other than ¹³¹I. Further multilateral studies are vital to reduce uncertainties in the present dose estimations. Conclusion: The estimation of the thyroid doses to Fukushima residents still has many uncertainties. However, it is considered unlikely that the thyroid doses exceeded 50 mSv except in some extreme cases. Further multilateral studies are thus necessary to reduce the uncertainties in the present dose estimations.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제47권2호
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• pp.77-85
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• 2022

Background: After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident, a model was developed to estimate the external exposure doses for residents who were expected to return to their homes after evacuation orders were lifted. However, the model's accuracy and uncertainties in parameters used to estimate external doses have not been evaluated. Materials and Methods: The model estimates effective doses based on the integrated ambient dose equivalent (H^*(10)) and life patterns, considering a dose reduction factor to estimate the indoor H^*(10) and a conversion factor from H^*(10) to the effective dose. Because personal dose equivalent (H_p(10)) has been reported to agree well with the effective dose after the FDNPS accident, this study validates the model's accuracy by comparing the estimated effective doses with H_p(10). The H_p(10) and life pattern data were collected for 36 adult participants who lived or worked near the FDNPS in 2019. Results and Discussion: The estimated effective doses correlated significantly with H_p(10); however, the estimated effective doses were lower than H_p(10) for indoor sites. A comparison with the measured indoor H^*(10) showed that the estimated indoor H^*(10) was not underestimated. However, the H_p(10) to H^*(10) ratio indoors, which corresponds to the practical conversion factor from H^*(10) to the effective dose, was significantly larger than the same ratio outdoors, meaning that the conversion factor of 0.6 is not appropriate for indoors due to the changes in irradiation geometry and gamma spectra. This could have led to a lower effective dose than H_p(10). Conclusion: The estimated effective doses correlated significantly with H_p(10), demonstrating the model's applicability for effective dose estimation. However, the lower value of the effective dose indoors could be because the conversion factor did not reflect the actual environment.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제44권5호
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• pp.437-452
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• 2012

The Tohoku earthquake (Mw9.0) occurred on March 11, 2011 and caused a large tsunami. The Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP (F1-NPP) were overwhelmed by the tsunami and core damage occurred. This paper describes the overview of F1-NPP accident and the usability of tsunami PRA at Tohoku earthquake. The paper makes reference to the following current issues: influence on seismic hazard of gigantic aftershocks and triggered earthquakes, concepts for evaluating core damage frequency considering common cause failure with correlation coefficient against seismic event at multi units and sites, and concepts of "seismic-tsunami PSA" considering a combination of seismic motion and tsunami effects.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.26-32
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• 2015

During the course of a severe accident in a light water nuclear reactor, large amounts of hydrogen can be generated and released into the containment during reactor core degradation. Additional burnable gases [hydrogen ($H_2$) and carbon monoxide (CO)] may be released into the containment in the corium/concrete interaction. This could subsequently raise a combustion hazard. As the Fukushima accidents revealed, hydrogen combustion can cause high pressure spikes that could challenge the reactor buildings and lead to failure of the surrounding buildings. To prevent the gas explosion hazard, most mitigation strategies adopted by European countries are based on the implementation of passive autocatalytic recombiners (PARs). Studies of representative accident sequences indicate that, despite the installation of PARs, it is difficult to prevent at all times and locations, the formation of a combustible mixture that potentially leads to local flame acceleration. Complementary research and development (R&D) projects were recently launched to understand better the phenomena associated with the combustion hazard and to address the issues highlighted after the Fukushima Daiichi events such as explosion hazard in the venting system and the potential flammable mixture migration into spaces beyond the primary containment. The expected results will be used to improve the modeling tools and methodology for hydrogen risk assessment and severe accident management guidelines. The present paper aims to present the methodology adopted by Institut de Radioprotection et de $S{\hat{u}}ret{\acute{e}}$ $Nucl{\acute{e}}aire$ to assess hydrogen risk in nuclear power plants, in particular French nuclear power plants, the open issues, and the ongoing R&D programs related to hydrogen distribution, mitigation, and combustion.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.393-404
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• 2012

After the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, there has been increasing concern regarding severe accidents in nuclear facilities. Severe accident scenarios are difficult for operators to monitor and identify. Therefore, accurate prediction of a severe accident is important in order to manage it appropriately in the unfavorable conditions. In this study, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as support vector classification (SVC), probabilistic neural network (PNN), group method of data handling (GMDH), and fuzzy neural network (FNN), were used to monitor the major transient scenarios of a severe accident caused by three different initiating events, the hot-leg loss of coolant accident (LOCA), the cold-leg LOCA, and the steam generator tube rupture in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). The SVC and PNN models were used for the event classification. The GMDH and FNN models were employed to accurately predict the important timing representing severe accident scenarios. In addition, in order to verify the proposed algorithm, data from a number of numerical simulations were required in order to train the AI techniques due to the shortage of real LOCA data. The data was acquired by performing simulations using the MAAP4 code. The prediction accuracy of the three types of initiating events was sufficiently high to predict severe accident scenarios. Therefore, the AI techniques can be applied successfully in the identification and monitoring of severe accident scenarios in real PWRs.

• 방사성폐기물학회지
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• 제21권1호
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• pp.115-147
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• 2023

The Fukushima accident in 2011 revealed some major flaws in traditional nuclear fuel materials under accidental conditions. Thus, the focus of research has shifted toward "accident tolerant fuel" (ATF). The aim of this approach is to develop fuel material solutions that lead to improved reactor safety. The application of protective coatings on the surface of nuclear fuel cladding has been proposed as a near-term solution within the ATF framework. Many coating materials are being developed and evaluated. In this article, an overview of different zirconium-based alloys currently in use in the nuclear industry is provided, and their performances in normal and accidental conditions are discussed. Coating materials proposed by different institutions and organizations, their performances under different conditions simulating nuclear reactor environments are reviewed. The strengths and weaknesses of these coatings are highlighted, and the challenges addressed by different studies are summarized, providing a basis for future research. Finally, technologies and methods used to synthesize thin-film coatings are outlined.