• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.365-369
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• 2022

Operating and decommissioning nuclear power plants generates radioactive waste. This radioactive waste can be categorized into several different levels, for example, low, intermediate, and high, according to the regulations. Currently, low and intermediate-level waste are stored in conventional 200-liter drums to be disposed. However, in Korea, the disposal of intermediate-level radioactive waste is virtually impossible as there are no available facilities. Furthermore, large-sized intermediate-level radioactive waste, such as reactor internals from decommissioning, need to be segmented into smaller sizes so they can be adequately stored in the conventional drums. This segmentation process requires additional costs and also produces secondary waste. Therefore, this paper suggests repurposing the no-longer-used spent nuclear fuel casks. The casks are larger in size than the conventional drums, thus requiring less segmentation of waste. Furthermore, the safety requirements of the spent nuclear fuel casks are severer than those of the drums. Hence, repurposed spent nuclear fuel casks could better address potential risks such as dropping, submerging, or a fire. In addition, the spent nuclear fuel casks need to be disposed in compliance with the regulations for low level radioactive waste. This cost may be avoided by repurposing the casks.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.265-279
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• 2017

The Gyeongju underground silo type disposal facility, approved for use in December 2014, is in operation for the disposal of low and very low-level radioactive wastes, excluding intermediate-level waste. That is why the existing low-level radioactive waste level has been subdivided and the concentration limit value for intermediate-level waste has been changed in accordance with Nuclear Safety Commission Notice 2014-003. For the safe disposal of intermediate-level wastes, new optimization methodology for calculating the concentration limit of intermediate radioactive level wastes at an underground silo type disposal facility was developed. According to the developed optimization methodology, concentration limits of intermediate-level wastes were derived and the inventory of radioactive nuclides was evaluated. The operation and post closure scenarios were evaluated for the derived radioactive nuclide inventory and the results of all scenarios were confirmed to meet the regulatory limit. However, in case of $^{14}C$, it was confirmed that additional radioactivity limitation through a well scenario was needed in addition to the limit of disposal concentration. It was confirmed that the derived intermediate concentration limit of radioactive waste can be used as the intermediate-level waste concentration limit for the underground disposal facility. For the safe disposal of intermediate-level wastes, KORAD plans to acquire additional data from the radioactive waste generator and manage the cumulative radioactivity of $^{14}C$.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.477-492
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• 2009

In this paper, we discuss the experiences during the preparation of the Wolsong Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center. These experiences have importance as a first implementation for the national LILW disposal facility in the Republic of Korea. As for the progress, it relates to the area of selected disposal site, the disposal site characteristics, waste characteristics of the disposal facility, safety assessment, and licensing process. During these experiences, we also discuss the necessity for new organization and change for a radioactive waste management system. Further effort for the safe management of radioactive waste needs to be pursued.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.143-152
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• 2005

There certainly exists the radioactive inventory that exceeds the waste acceptance criteria for final disposal of the low and intermediate-level radioactive waste. In this paper, current disposal status of the long-lived radioactive waste in several nations are summarized and the basic procedures for disposal approach are suggested. With this suggestion, intensive discussion and research activities can hopefully be launched to set down the possible resolutions to dispose of the long-lived radioactive waste.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.175-187
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• 2004

This paper reviews basic considerations for establishing managerial requirements on the domestic low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste repository and presents the corresponding draft requirements. The draft emphasizes their close linking with the related regulations, standards and safety assessment for the repository. It also proposes a desirable direction towards harmonizing together with the existing waste acceptance requirements for the repository

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.511-516
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• 2008

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) developed new IP-2 packages to transport low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) steel drums from nuclear power plants to a disposal facility in accordance with IAEA and Korean transport regulations of radioactive material. Radiation shielding evaluation of the packages was carried out to demonstrate compliance with the regulatory requirements for IP-2 packages of radioactive material. Dose rate limits of LILW drums contained in the packages were determined.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.197-204
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• 2021

In this study, the well-known non-destructive acoustic emission (AE) and electrical resistivity methods were employed to predict quantitative damage in the silo structure of the Wolsong Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center (WLDC), Gyeongju, South Korea. Brazilian tensile test was conducted with a fully saturated specimen with a composition identical to that of the WLDC silo concrete. Bi-axial strain gauges, AE sensors, and electrodes were attached to the surface of the specimen to monitor changes. Both the AE hit and electrical resistance values helped in the anticipation of imminent specimen failure, which was further confirmed using a strain gauge. The quantitative damage (or damage variable) was defined according to the AE hits and electrical resistance and analyzed with stress ratio variations. Approximately 75% of the damage occurred when the stress ratio exceeded 0.5. Quantitative damage from AE hits and electrical resistance showed a good correlation (R = 0.988, RMSE = 0.044). This implies that AE and electrical resistivity can be complementarily used for damage assessment of the structure. In future, damage to dry and heated specimens will be examined using AE hits and electrical resistance, and the results will be compared with those from this study.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2011.10a
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• pp.545-547
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• 2011

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.185-199
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• 2024

Disposal cover as an engineered barrier of a near-surface disposal facility for low and very low-level radioactive waste is composed of a multi-layer to isolate radioactive waste from environmental influences for the long term. To acquire a realistic forecast for the post-closure period of the disposal facility, it is essential to carry out long-term experimental research in a similar condition to the actual disposal environment. Hence, a performance test facility of the disposal cover was constructed in Gyeongju low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal center in 2022. The constructed performance test facility has differences from the material properties presented in the design. These differences are factors that affect the prevent rainfall infiltration, which is one of the important roles of the disposal cover. Therefore, in this study, a numerical simulation of rainfall infiltration into the performance test facility was performed for the designed case and the actual constructed case. To simulate the behavior of water infiltration, the FEFLOW software based on the finite element method is used. Through the analysis of numerical simulation results, it is confirmed that the hydraulic conductivity of the material constituting the multi-layer of the disposal cover greatly influences the amount of water infiltration.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.257-264
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• 2017

For the safe disposal of intermediate level radioactive waste according to the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission's notice and KORAD's management plan for low and intermediate level radioactive waste, the disposal concentration limit was derived based on the IAEA methodology. The evaluation of the derived disposal concentration limit revealed that it is not suitable as a practical limit for intermediate level radioactive waste. This is because the disposal concentration limit according to the IAEA methodology is derived using a single value of radioactive waste density and the disposal facility's volume. The IAEA methodology is suitable for setting the concentration limit for vault type disposal, which consists of a single type of waste, whereas an underground silo type disposal facility is composed of several types of radioactive waste, and thus the IAEA methodology has limitations in determining the disposal concentration limit. It is necessary to develop and apply an improved method to derive the disposal concentration limit for intermediate level radioactive waste by considering the radioactivity of various types of radioactive waste, the corresponding scenario evaluation results, and the regulatory limit.