• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.1791-1798
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• 2019

Instrumentation and Control (I&C) systems of nuclear power plants (NPPs) have been continuously digitalized. These systems have a critical role in the operation of nuclear facilities by functioning as the brain of NPPs. In recent years, as cyber security threats to NPP systems have increased, regulatory and policy-related organizations around the world, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control (KINAC), have emphasized the importance of nuclear cyber security by publishing cyber security guidelines and recommending cyber security requirements for NPP facilities. As described in NRC Regulatory Guide (Reg) 5.71 and KINAC RS015, challenge response authentication should be applied to the critical digital I&C system of NPPs to satisfy the cyber security requirements. There have been no cases in which the most robust response authentication technology like challenge response has been developed and applied to nuclear I&C systems. This paper presents a challenge response authentication mechanism for a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) system used as a control system in the safety system of the Advanced Power Reactor (APR) 1400 NPP.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.65-98
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• 2022

The nuclear legacy that remains in the United Kingdom (UK) is complex and diverse. Consisting of legacy ponds and silos, redundant reprocessing plants, research facilities, and non-standard or one-off reactor designs, the clean-up of this legacy is under the stewardship of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Through a mix of prompt and delayed decommissioning strategies, the NDA has made great strides in dealing with the UK's nuclear legacy. Fuel debris and sludge removal from the legacy ponds and silos situated at Sellafield, as part of a prompt decommissioning strategy for the site, has enabled intolerable risks to be brought under control. Reactor defueling and waste retrievals across the Magnox fleet is enabling their transition to a period of care and maintenance; accelerated through the adopted 'Lead and Learn' approach. Bespoke decommissioning methods implemented by the NDA have also enabled the relevant site licence companies to tackle non-standard reactor designs and one-off wastes. Such approaches have potential to influence and shape nuclear decommissioning decision making activities globally, including in Korea.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.177-200
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• 2019

Energy demand forecast which serves as an essential input in energy policy is exposed to multiple factors of uncertainty such as GDP and weather forecast uncertainty. The Master Plan of Electricity Market in Korea which is biennially prepared is critically based on fluctuating energy demand forecast whereas its resulting proposal on electricity generation mix is substantially irreversible. The paper provides a real options model to evaluate energy transition policy by considering Knightian uncertainty as a measure to study multiple uncertainties with multiple set of probability distributions. Our finding is that the current energy transition policy under the master plan is not robust in terms of securing stable management of electricity demand and supply system.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.95-114
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• 2023

During the decades after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) accident, ambient dose rates have markedly decreased when compared to those at the early state of the accident. Government projects have been continuously conducted by surveying the ambient dose rate and radiocesium distributions. Airborne surveys using crewed helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are the best methods for obtaining an overall picture of the distribution. However, ground-based surveys are required for accurate measurements near the population. The differences between these methods include the knowledge of the post depositional behavior of radionuclides in land use. The survey results form the basis for policy decisions such as lifting evacuation zones, decontamination, and other countermeasures. These surveys contain crucial findings regarding post-accident responses. This paper reviews the survey methods of government projects and current situation around the FDNPS. The visualization methods and databases of ambient dose rates are also reviewed to provide information to the population.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2001

In this study, we tried to build a model which can deal with the efficient and effective operation of electric power industry, especially focused on the nuclear industry. Here, SD (System Dynamics) approach is used to visualize the underlying phenomenon of the nuclear power industry. SD is a methodology for studying and managing complex feedback systems, such as one finds in business and other social systems. The spend of SD applications has grown extensively and now encompasses work in corporate planning and policy design, public management and policy, biological and medical modeling, energy and the environment. Recently, according to the report from KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation), they are considering delaying a new power plant construction. It may be based upon business fluctuation downsized from Korean economic crisis in 1997 and freezing of construction funds due to unstable foreign exchange rate. At this point, we need disparately a kind of strategic model that would contribute to cope with the current business situation, energy generation, production, and resulting pollution. Specifically, this model, using SD approach, starts with the detailed drawing of influence diagram, which describes those relevant key points on nuclear power generation systems in electric power industry of Korea. These include such factors as the operation of nuclear industry and parameters related to the decision making for business policy. Based upon the above-mentioned influence diagram drawn, we developed SD simulation model to evaluate and analyze strategic management of KEPCO. Based on our analysis, we could demonstrate how simulation model can be applied to the real electric power generation in Korea.

• STI Policy Review
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.146-173
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• 2015

This study explores how to reconcile science and policy in the wind energy sector by providing a conceptual framework for better understanding evidence-based policymaking (EBPM). Regarding this framework, the core issue is to discover how knowledge is formed over time, and which factors affect this knowledge formation. Comparative cases of wind industry emergence in Spain and Britain are examined. This analysis shows that knowledge formation initially starts in the scientific arena in parallel with its formation in the practical, and is followed by political knowledge formation near the beginning of commercial projects. Regarding knowledge formation, three more comparisons are made between wind industry emergence in Spain and Britain: the different approaches to R&D projects, the different adoptions of supporting measures, and the different ways of coping with public opposition. The factors affecting the comparisons are mainly perceptions of energy supply, nuclear power, environment and science and technology. Communication and unfamiliarity are likely to affect the comparisons in EBPM.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.253-265
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• 2014

Nuclear education & training is an important issue for sustainability of nuclear energy and the safety of the nuclear power plant. The purpose of this paper is to present policy initiatives for establishment of the national nuclear education & training system. It analyzed current status of nuclear manpower and nuclear education & training systems of Korean nuclear organizations and government strategic plans for nuclear manpower education & training. The features of the current nuclear education & training in Korea are institutional diversification and decentralization in Industry-University-Research system. However, linkages and cooperation systematically integrated between institutions are very weak. In addition, duplicated education & training programs and resource allocation, and the resultant inefficiency have been raised as a problem. Therefore, this paper proposed the national nuclear education & training system model as a macro policy initiatives and construction of control tower that manage and adjust overall nuclear education & training.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.1-28
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• 2012

This study conducted a qualitative analysis on the Korea's nuclear energy sector in 2030 through scenario-based strategic foresight method. Specifically, the relationships between environmental influencing factors of the future nuclear energy sector was examined from a multi-dimensional perspective on the basis of STEEP analysis and network analysis. In addition, scenario planning method was used with key uncertainty factors (KUF) to create three predictable strategic scenarios including optimistic, business as usual, and pessimistic. Common strategies that need to be urgently pursued as well as the maximum risk avoidance strategies for each scenario were also presented. This study further identified energy pricing, global economic trend, competitiveness in nuclear technology, and marketing capability as key uncertainty factors in the future nuclear energy industry sector. In order to furnish effective export strategy in the future nuclear energy sector, it was also suggested that government policy should adopt following measures as top priorities: securing nuclear safety technology, educating nuclear engineers, securing nuclear resources such as uranium, increasing nuclear capability and so on. The implications and limitations of this study were then discussed based on research findings.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.3682-3694
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• 2022

The expansion of a country's ecological footprint generates resources for economic development. China's import bill and carbon footprint can be reduced by investing in green transportation and energy technologies. A sustainable environment depends on the cessation of climate change; the current study investigates nuclear energy efficiency, economic complexity, air transportation, and industrial improvement for reducing environmental footprint. Using data spanning the years 1983-2016, the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag simulation method has demonstrated the short- and long-term variability in the impact of regressors on the ecological footprint. The study findings revealed that economic complexity in China had been found to have a statistically significant impact on the country's ecological footprint. Moreover, the industrial improvement process is helpful for the ecological footprint in China. In the short term, air travel has a negative impact on the ecological footprint, but this effect diminishes over time. Additionally, energy innovation is negative and substantial both in the short and long run, thus demonstrating its positive role in reducing the ecological footprint. Policy implications can be extracted from a wide range of issues, including economic complexity, industrial improvement, air transportation, energy innovation, and ecological impact to achieve sustainable goals.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.993-1001
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• 2024

The TANDEM project is a European initiative funded under the EURATOM program. The project started on September 2022 and has a duration of 36 months. TANDEM stands for Small Modular ReacTor for a European sAfe aNd Decarbonized Energy Mix. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) can be hybridized with other energy sources, storage systems and energy conversion applications to provide electricity, heat and hydrogen. Hybrid energy systems have the potential to strongly contribute to the energy decarbonization targeting carbon-neutrality in Europe by 2050. However, the integration of nuclear reactors, particularly SMRs, in hybrid energy systems, is a new R&D topic to be investigated. In this context, the TANDEM project aims to develop assessments and tools to facilitate the safe and efficient integration of SMRs into low-carbon hybrid energy systems. An open-source "TANDEM" model library of hybrid system components will be developed in Modelica language which, by coupling, will extend the capabilities of existing tools implemented in the project. The project proposes to specifically address the safety issues of SMRs related to their integration into hybrid energy systems, involving specific interactions between SMRs and the rest of the hybrid systems; new initiating events may have to be considered in the safety approach. TANDEM will study two hybrid systems covering the main trends of the European energy policy and market evolution at 2035's horizon: a district heating network and power supply in a large urban area, and an energy hub serving energy conversion systems, including hydrogen production; the energy hub is inspired from a harbor-like infrastructure. TANDEM will provide assessments on SMR safety, hybrid system operationality and techno-economics. Societal considerations will also be encased by analyzing European citizen engagement in SMR technology safety.