• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제50권3호
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• pp.319-326
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• 2018

Since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, concern and worry about multiunit accidents have been increasing. Korea has a higher urgency to evaluate its site risk because its number of nuclear power plants (NPPs) and population density are higher than those in other countries. Since the 1980s, technical documents have been published on multiunit probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), but the Fukushima accident accelerated research on multiunit PSA. It is therefore necessary to summarize the present situation and draw implications for further research. This article reviews journal and conference papers on multiunit or site risk evaluation published between 2011 and 2016. The contents of the reviewed literature are classified as research status, initiators, and methodologies representing dependencies, and the insights and conclusions are consolidated. As of 2017, the regulatory authority and nuclear power utility have launched a full-scale project to assess multiunit risk in Korea. This article provides comprehensive reference materials on the necessary enabling technology for subsequent studies of multiunit or site risk assessment.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• 제2권3호
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• pp.172-195
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• 2015

Multiple nationwide opinion surveys, carried out by the government (cabinet office), major media (national newspapers and NHK), the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, have revealed that the Fukushima nuclear accident has heightened people's perception of disaster risks, fear of nuclear accidents, and increased recognition of pollution issues, and has changed public opinion on nuclear energy policy. The opinion gap on nuclear energy policy between specialists and lay people has widened since the disaster. The results of the Japanese General Social Survey data show that objections to the promotion of nuclear energy are strong among females, and weaker among young males and the supporters of the LDP. These findings are similar to the data collected after the Chernobyl accident. People who live in a 70km radius of nuclear plants tend to evaluate nuclear disaster risks higher. Distance from nuclear plants and the perception of earthquake risk interactively correlate with opinions on nuclear issues. Among people whose evaluation of earthquake risk is low, those who live nearer to the plants are more likely to object to the abolishment of nuclear plants. It was also found that the nuclear disaster has changed people's behavior; they now try to save electricity. The level of commitment to energy saving is found to relate to opinions on nuclear issues.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제46권1호
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• pp.24-31
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• 2021

Decommissioning efforts are underway at the reactor where the accident occurred, namely the damaged Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). However, a large amount of groundwater flowing into the site has become contaminated with radioactive substances and is stored in tanks on site, which has hampered the decommissioning work. Although the inflow of groundwater has been greatly reduced through measures such as the construction of frost walls, approximately 170 ㎥ of water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) is being stored in tanks, each day. The tanks used to store this treated water are expected to become full by around the summer of 2022. It is not easy to get people to understand the efforts of all concerned parties, and providing clear information to these concerned parties is also a challenge. Questions have also been raised regarding whether other alternatives have been fully explored in the ALPS subcommittee. Some people have commented that the answers to the questions raised regarding the biological effects of tritium transmutation are inadequate. Some suspect that the answers are too detailed and incomprehensible, and that the respondents may be manipulating the public with some malicious intent. In any case, each possible plan presents both advantages and disadvantages, depending on the people who are involved. That makes it an ethical and vexing issue that can sway decisions, as perspectives change. While the environmental release plan is scientifically safe, it may represent a painful alternative. On the other hand, a more careful and imaginative approach to the idea of continued storage in tanks or other forms of storage may reveal some troublesome hidden disadvantages. Under these circumstances, experts must be prepared to answer people's questions in a comprehensive and robust manner.

• 전기학회논문지
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• 제61권8호
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• pp.1172-1178
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• 2012

In this paper, the gamma ray irradiation test results of the CCD cameras are described. From the low dose-rate (2.11 Gy/h) to the high dose-rate (150 Gy/h) level, which is the same level when the hydrogen explosion was occurred in the 1~3 reactor unit of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the monitoring performance of the cameras owing to the speckles are evaluated. The numbers of speckles, generated by gamma ray irradiation, in the image of cameras are calculated by image processing technique. And the legibility of the sensor indicator (dosimeter) owing to the numbers of the speckles is presented.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제46권3호
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• pp.134-142
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• 2021

Background: From 2018 to 2020, the Expert Study on Public Understanding after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident (the Expert Study Group) identified and analyzed activities designed to promote public understanding of science and radiation since the Fukushima accident, and held discussions on how to achieve public understanding in the situation where public confidence has been lost, and how experts should prepare for dealing with the public. This panel session was held at the 53^rd meeting of the Japan Health Physics Society on June 30, 2020. Materials and Methods: First, three subgroup (SG) leaders reported their research methods and results. Then, two designated speakers, who participated as observers of the Expert Study Group, commented on the activities. Next, the five speakers held a panel discussion. Finally, the rapporteur summarized. Results and Discussion: SG leaders presented reports from researchers and practitioners in health physics and environmental risks who provided information after the Fukushima accident. During the discussion, experts in sociology and ethics discussed the issues, focusing on the overall goals of the three groups, local (personal) and mass communication, and ethical values. Many of the activities instituted by the experts after the accident were aimed at public understanding of science (that is, to provide knowledge to residents), but by taking into account interactions with residents and their ethical norms, the experts shifted to supporting the residents' decision-making through public engagement. The need to consider both content and channels is well known in the field of health communication, and overlaps with the above discussion. Conclusion: How to implement and promote the public engagement in society was discussed in both the floor and designated discussions. Cooperation between local communities and organizations that have already gained trust is also necessary in order to develop relationships with local residents in normal times, to establish an information transmission system, and to make it work effectively.

• 과학교육연구지
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• 제37권2호
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• pp.294-309
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• 2013

이 연구에서는 초등 예비교사들의 과학과 관련된 사회적 문제에 대한 인식을 알아보았다. 연구를 위해 SSI와 관련된 구체적인 이슈로 후쿠시마 원전 사고를 이용하였다. 연구에는 교원양성대학에 재학중인 대학교 2학년생 12명이 참여하였으며, 연구 참여자 모두는 초등학교 과학 교육과정에 대한 내용으로 구성되어 있는 초등 과학교육론을 수강하고 있는 학생들이었다. 연구결과 초등 예비교사들은 모두 후쿠시마 원전 사고에 대해 인지하고 있었으며, 원전 사고에 대해 다양한 매체를 통해 접하고 있음을 알 수 있었다. 특히 인터넷을 많이 사용하는 대학생이어서인지 다른 매체에 비해 인터넷을 통해 원전 사고에 대한 내용을 많이 접하고 있었으며, 또한 인터넷을 통해 추가적인 정보를 얻기도 하였다. 그러나 초등 예비교사는 원전 사고에 대해 인지하고 있는 것과는 달리 많은 정보를 갖고 있지는 않았으며, 원전 사고와 같은 SSI에 대해 평소 관심을 갖고 있거나 교육을 받은 경험을 미비했다. 원전 사고와 같은 SSI에 대해 관심은 없으나 원전 사고와 같은 과학적인 문제들이 사회에 밀접한 영향을 미친다는 것은 인식하고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 아울러 현행 교육과정에 SSI 교육이 적용되어야 한다는 점에서도 모두 공감하고 있었으며, 적용되지 않고 있다는 점에 대해서도 문제인식을 같이 하였다. 이상의 연구 결과를 보면, 과학교육의 목표 중에 하나인 과학의 본성을 이해시키는 측면과 과학 교과에 대한 흥미 제고를 위해서라도 SSI 교육에 더욱 활발한 연구뿐만 아니라 정규 교육과정에의 적용은 매우 중요하며 시급하다고 할 수 있다.

• 한국압력기기공학회 논문집
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.56-61
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• 2016

After Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant accident caused by the beyond design basis earthquake and tsunami, it has turned to be a major challenge for nuclear safety. IAEA, US NRC and EU have provided new safety design standards for beyond design basis event, Domestic regulatory bodies have also enacted guidances for licensees and applicants on additional methods related to beyond design basis events. This paper describes several evaluation methods for applying to nuclear power plants piping for beyond design basis earthquake. As a results, energy method based on the absorbed energy on nuclear power plant, deterministic method following design code and theory, experience method considering past earthquake data and information and probabilistic methods similar to probabilistic risk assessment were reviewed.

• 식품과학과 산업
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.9-15
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• 2011

• 에너지공학
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.203-210
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• 2012

원자력발전은 우리나라 전력의 약 30%를 공급하는 중요한 전력 공급 수단중의 하나이다. 그러나 2011년 3월 11일 일본 동북부를 강타한 규모 9.0의 대지진으로 인해 발생한 후쿠시마 원전사고는 '국내 원자력 발전은 불안하다'는 불안감을 조성하고 있다. 이러한 불신의 요인은 여러 가지가 있지만 부정확한 언론보도도 일조하고 있다. 이 논문은 1999년 10월 4일 발생한 월성원전 3호기 중수누출에 관한 당시 언론보도 내용 분석을 통해 문제점을 파악하고, 바람직한 언론보도에 대해 알아보기로 한다.

• 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.