• Title/Summary/Keyword: Nuclear Sites

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Heavy metal assessment of marine sediment in selected coastal districts of the Western Region, Ghana

  • Kuranchie-Mensah, Harriet;Osei, Juliet;Atiemo, Sampson M.;Nyarko, Benjamin J.B.;Osae, Shiloh K.;Laar, Cynthia;Ackah, Michael;Buah-Kwofie, Archibold;Blankson-Arthur, Sara;Adeti, Prince J.
    • Advances in environmental research
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    • v.2 no.2
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    • pp.155-166
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    • 2013
  • A preliminary investigation to establish the status of contamination of trace metals in the Western coast of Ghana was conducted prior to the commercial production of crude oil in the area. The study revealed the presence of heavy metals such as Pb (4.00-79.64 mg/kg), As (8.81-236 mg/kg), Cu (12.86-108.06 mg/kg), V (28.07-953.32 mg/kg), Zn (7.08-264.25 mg/kg), Cr (101.69-1366.62 mg/kg), Ni (42.41-451.43 mg/kg), Mn (16.77-1890.45mg/kg), Br (7.66-142.78 mg/kg), Ti (542.03-19960 mg/kg) and Fe (7472.88-97120 mg/kg) at six sites sampled along the coast. With the exception of Ti and Fe which showed no variation in metal concentration, the rest of the metals varied significantly among the sampled locations. Potential ecological risk of metals particularly of Co, As and Br which exhibited extreme enrichment of the sediments indicates considerable metal pollution in the studied areas. The degree of contamination is of particular concern especially to benthic biota that inhabit this environment for survival.

Sentinel Lymph Node Imaging in Breast Cancer (유방암에서 전초림프절 영상)

  • Kim, Byung-Tae
    • The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.243-246
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    • 1999
  • Currently, dissection of the axillary or regional lymph nodes is considered the standard staging procedure in breast cancer. However, accumulating evidence is becoming available that the sentinel node concept may provide the same or even better staging information. In the case of melanoma, it is proven that the histological characteristics of the sentinel node reflect the histological characteristics of the distal part of the lymphatic basin. Morbidity can be reduced significantly by the use of sentinel node dissection as several authors have reported successful introduction of this technique into clinical practice. But in breast cancer patients, there are signigicant differences in practice relating to the technology, such as radiopharmaceuticals, injection sites, volume of injectate, combination with vital blue dye, preoperative lymphoscintigraphy, etc. Valuable reports on these topics appeared in recent journals. This review is a summary of those reports for nuclear physicians interested in sentinel node detection by lymphoscintigraphy in breast cancer patients.

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Nuclear Bodies Built on Architectural Long Noncoding RNAs: Unifying Principles of Their Construction and Function

  • Chujo, Takeshi;Hirose, Tetsuro
    • Molecules and Cells
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    • v.40 no.12
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    • pp.889-896
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    • 2017
  • Nuclear bodies are subnuclear, spheroidal, and membraneless compartments that concentrate specific proteins and/or RNAs. They serve as sites of biogenesis, storage, and sequestration of specific RNAs, proteins, or ribonucleoprotein complexes. Recent studies reveal that a subset of nuclear bodies in various eukaryotic organisms is constructed using architectural long noncoding RNAs (arcRNAs). Here, we describe the unifying mechanistic principles of the construction and function of these bodies, especially focusing on liquid-liquid phase separation induced by architectural molecules that form multiple weakly adhesive interactions. We also discuss three possible advantages of using arcRNAs rather than architectural proteins to build the bodies: position-specificity, rapidity, and economy in sequestering nucleic acid-binding proteins. Moreover, we introduce two recently devised methods to discover novel arcRNA-constructed bodies; one that focuses on the RNase-sensitivity of these bodies, and another that focuses on "semi-extractability" of arcRNAs.

Tritium( $^3$H) Activity Measurement by the Liquid Scintillation Counting Method

  • Hwang, Sun-Tae;Oh, Pil-Jae;Lee, Min-Kie;Kim, Wi-Soo
    • Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.10 no.E
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    • pp.299-302
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    • 1994
  • At a nuclear power plant, environmental radioactivity monitoring is routine work for the radiation safety management For the environmental monitoring of tritium($^3$H) activity in water sampled liquid scintillation counting( LSC) method is applied to measure low- energy beta activity from tritium in the samples. The $^3$H activity is measured using the BECKMAN 5801 system at the KRISS( Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science) for evaluating the lower limits of detection( LLD) of $^3$H measurement and the measuring capability of low-level $^3$H activity at four nuclear Power Plant sites. The LSC systems used for low-level $^3$H activity measurements at the nuclear Power Plants are confirmed to satisfy throughout an intercomparison study under the experimental arrangements by the KRISS.

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Korean Status and Prospects for Radioactive Waste Management

  • Song, M.J.
    • Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 2013
  • The safe management of radioactive waste is a national task required for sustainable generation of nuclear power and for energy self-reliance in Korea. Since the initial introduction of nuclear power to Korea in 1978, rapid growth in nuclear power has been achieved. This large nuclear power generation program has produced a significant amount of radioactive waste, both low- and intermediate-level waste (LILW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF); and the amount of waste is steadily growing. For the management of LILW, the Wolsong LILW Disposal Center, which has a final waste disposal capacity of 800,000 drums, is under construction, and is expected to be completed by June 2014. Korean policy about how to manage the SNF has not yet been decided. In 2004, the Atomic Energy Commission decided that a national policy for SNF management should be established considering both technological development and public consensus. Currently, SNF is being stored at reactor sites under the responsibility of plant operator. The at-reactor SNF storage capacity will run out starting in 2024. In this paper, the fundamental principles and steps for implementation of a Korean policy for national radioactive waste management are introduced. Korean practices and prospects regarding radioactive waste management are also summarized, with a focus on strategy for policy-making on SNF management.

A Study of System Analysis Method for Seismic PSA of Nuclear Power Plants (원자력발전소 지진 PSA의 계통분석방법 개선 연구)

  • Lim, Hak Kyu
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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    • v.34 no.5
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    • pp.159-166
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    • 2019
  • The seismic PSA is to probabilistically estimate the potential damage that a large earthquake will cause to a nuclear power plant. It integrates the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis, seismic fragility analysis, and system analysis and is utilized to identify seismic vulnerability and improve seismic capacity of nuclear power plants. Recently, the seismic risk of domestic multi-unit nuclear power plant sites has been evaluated after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Gyeongju Earthquake in Korea. However, while the currently available methods for system analysis can derive basic required results of seismic PSA, they do not provide the detailed results required for the efficient improvement of seismic capacity. Therefore, for in-depth seismic risk evaluation, improved system analysis method for seismic PSA has become necessary. This study develops a system analysis method that is not only suitable for multi-unit seismic PSA but also provides risk information for the seismic capacity improvements. It will also contribute to the enhancement of the safety of nuclear power plants by identifying the seismic vulnerability using the detailed results of seismic PSA. In addition, this system analysis method can be applied to other external event PSAs, such as fire PSA and tsunami PSA, which require similar analysis.

Multi-body dynamics model for spent nuclear fuel transportation system under normal transport test conditions

  • Seongji Han;Gil-Eon Jeong;Hyeonbeen Lee;Woo-Seok Choi;Jin-Gyun Kim
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.55 no.11
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    • pp.4125-4133
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    • 2023
  • The transportation of spent nuclear fuel is an important process that involves road and sea transport from an interim storage facility to storage and final disposal sites. As spent nuclear fuel poses a significant risk, carefully evaluating its vibration and shock characteristics under normal transport conditions is essential. In this regard, full-scale multi-modal transport tests (MMTT) have been conducted domestically and internationally. In this paper, we discuss the process of developing a multi-body dynamics (MBD) model to analytically simulate conditions that cannot be considered in tests. The MBD model is based on the KORAD-21 transportation system was validated using the Korean MMTT results from 2020 to 2021. This paper summarizes the details of the development and verification of the MBD model for the KORAD-21 transportation system under normal transport test conditions. This approach can be applicable to various transportation scenarios and systems, and the results of this study will help to ensure that nuclear fuel transportation is conducted safely and effectively.

Analysis of Effect of HVDC Transmission System on the Transient Stability (HVDC 송전망이 대형발전단지의 과도안정도에 미치는 영향 분석)

  • Jeon, Hyeok-Mo;Chun, Yeong-Han
    • The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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    • v.65 no.1
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    • pp.1-8
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    • 2016
  • The characteristics of Korean power systems are large capacity of generation sites and concentrated load in Seoul metropolitan area. According to the national generation facility plan, more generation facilities are needed to be constructed as the electrical demands are forecasted to increase. Moreover, the size of generation sites are expected to increase, too. Therefore transient stability problems become worse and worse. Recently, the necessity of HVDC has been raised to overcome the difficulty of constructing HVAC transmission lines. This paper shows the analysis of transient stability when HVDC transmission system is added to the power system consisting of large generation sites.

원전부지 지진감시

  • 노명현
    • Proceedings of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea Conference
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    • 1999.04a
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    • pp.17-24
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    • 1999
  • The porvision against earthquakes and aseismic design of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Korea are composed of four stages: site-selection, design, construction, and operation stages, Since regulatory criteria are strictly applied in each stage, the NPPs in Korea are believed to have a sufficient safety against maximum potential earthquakes. However, it has been recognized that those regulatory criteria borrowed from U.S. should be replace by Korea-specific ones by using earthquake data obtained from earthquake observation at and around NPP sites. Also, the government made a plan after the Yongwol and th Kyongju earthquakes that the regulatory body operates an independent earthquake network in order to reinforce the earthquake preparedness of NPPs. In compliance with the government's plan, this project is aiming at deployment of an earthquake motoring network composed of four seismic stations at NPP sites to record earthquake ground motions at NPP sites, to derive attenuation formulas of various ground motions and site-specific response spectra, and to develop structural intergrity assesment program.

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Simple Empirical Attenuation Relationship for Potential Nuclear Power Plant Sites (원자력발전소의 단순화 된 실증적 지진감쇄 관계)

  • Tanwa, Kankang;Eric, Yee
    • Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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    • v.34 no.9
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    • pp.43-49
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    • 2018
  • Seismic hazard assessments are performed on a variety of infrastructure projects. One component of a seismic hazard assessment is the attenuation relationship. Several attenuation relationships have been developed over the decades to predict peak ground acceleration under a variety of site conditions. For example, many attenuation relationships were designed to estimate peak ground acceleration, as well as other intensity measures, under a variety of soil conditions, mostly using the average shear wave velocity for the upper 30 m of earth material as a classification scheme. However, certain types of infrastructure, such as tunnels and nuclear power plants, are typically founded on and in bedrock. Using data from Japan, we developed a simple correlation to estimate peak ground acceleration for rock sites and compare the results from another popular attenuation relationship. Results indicate the popular attenuation relationship to be less than the proposed model for distances less than 200 km.