• Title/Summary/Keyword: Nuclear policy

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Computational and experimental forensics characterization of weapons-grade plutonium produced in a thermal neutron environment

  • Osborn, Jeremy M.;Glennon, Kevin J.;Kitcher, Evans D.;Burns, Jonathan D.;Folden, Charles M.III;Chirayath, Sunil S.
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.50 no.6
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    • pp.820-828
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    • 2018
  • The growing nuclear threat has amplified the need for developing diverse and accurate nuclear forensics analysis techniques to strengthen nuclear security measures. The work presented here is part of a research effort focused on developing a methodology for reactor-type discrimination of weapons-grade plutonium. To verify the developed methodology, natural $UO_2$ fuel samples were irradiated in a thermal neutron spectrum at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) and produced approximately $20{\mu}g$ of weapons-grade plutonium test material. Radiation transport simulations of common thermal reactor types that can produce weapons-grade plutonium were performed, and the results are presented here. These simulations were needed to verify whether the plutonium produced in the natural $UO_2$ fuel samples during the experimental irradiation at MURR was a suitable representative to plutonium produced in common thermal reactor types. Also presented are comparisons of fission product and plutonium concentrations obtained from computational simulations of the experimental irradiation at MURR to the nondestructive and destructive measurements of the irradiated natural $UO_2$ fuel samples. Gamma spectroscopy measurements of radioactive fission products were mostly within 10%, mass spectroscopy measurements of the total plutonium mass were within 4%, and mass spectroscopy measurements of stable fission products were mostly within 5%.

Current Status of Korean Nuclear Industry and Major Policy Issues for Nuclear Development (한국원자력 산업의 현황과 원자력 개발을 위한 주요 정책상의 문제점)

  • Moon-Hyun Chun;Chang Hyun Chung
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.17 no.3
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    • pp.200-210
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    • 1985
  • A brief overview of the current status of Korean nuclear power development is first presented. The necessity of nuclear energy in Korea is then clarified. After presentation of these overview, the major issues of the Korean nuclear industry, such as the major obstacles for nuclear power development and the most weak areas of the Korean nuclear industry, are identified and discussed. Finally, as a conclusion, actions to be taken by the government and the nuclear industry in conjunction with increased nuclear power generation in Korea are presented.

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A Study on the Nuclear Development of North Korea and South-North Mutual Nuclear Inspection (북한의 핵개발과 남북 상호사찰 방안)

  • Park Seung-Gi
    • Journal of the military operations research society of Korea
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.1-14
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    • 1992
  • As North Korea signed 'the Korea Peninsula Non-Nuclearization Joint Declaration' at the end of last year as well as full-scope safeguards agreement with the IAEA in Jan.30 1992, her nuclear activity was incorporated into the international monitoring system and opportunities were arranged to .obstruct her nuclear weapon development and nuclear material diversion, which have been international issues up to recent years. However, achieving goals of the Joint Declaration and safeguards agreement should presuppose North Korea's sincerity toward the abandonment of nuclear weapon development. In this study, first of all, her nuclear policy, current situation of nuclear development and the capability of nuclear development are analyzed. Also, based on the analysis. attempts have been made to find methods of effective performance of the South-North Korea mutual nuclear inspection and the suggested methods are as follows; 1) Analysis of the limits of IAEA inspection and suggestion of its supplementary strategies 2) Securing and training professional inspectors for the South-North mutual inspection 3) Establishment of the verification technology to detect nuclear material diversion.

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A Study on Recalculating Nuclear Energy Generation Cost Considering Several External Costs

  • Kim, Hyun-Jung;Yee, Eric
    • Journal of Power System Engineering
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    • v.22 no.6
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    • pp.5-10
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    • 2018
  • Nuclear energy issues such as safety and social acceptance can not only influence the production costs of generating nuclear power, but also the external costs that are not reflected in market prices. Consequently, the social issues affiliated with nuclear power, beyond a severe accident, require some form of financial expense. The external social issues considered here are accident risk and realization, regulatory costs, and nuclear energy policy costs. Through several calculations and analyses of these external costs for nuclear power generation, it is concluded that these costs range from 7 to 27 \/kWh. Considering external costs are required for making energy plans, it could have an influence on generation costs.

The Public Sphere and the Conflict-Structure in Spent Nuclear Fuel Management (사용후핵 연료 관리 이슈 공론장과 그 갈등구조에 관한 소고)

  • Choi, Seong-Kyung
    • Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.49-62
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    • 2009
  • Social Acceptance is important to decide policy of spent nuclear fuel management. The idea of a public sphere as a receptacle of dynamic process is the core in this discussion. The purpose of this study is to examine the concept, participants, the conflict-structure and agreeable conditions of a public sphere. A public sphere means in this paper, mechanism and systems that various stakeholders' and public's participation with spontaneous will can affect decision-making process. For good designing and implementing a public sphere, it is necessary to analysis and cope with political, foreign and security, economic, sociocultural environments, the law and systems around spent nuclear fuel management.

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Analysis of Power Supply Cost According to Nuclear and Renewable Energy Policies (원전 및 신재생에너지 정책에 따른 전력공급비용 분석)

  • Woo, Pil Sung;Kim, Kang-won;Hwang, Soon-hyun;Kim, Balho H.
    • The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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    • v.67 no.1
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    • pp.16-21
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    • 2018
  • As a result of the Fukushima disaster and climate change due to excessive greenhouse gases, international energy affairs are currently focused on establishing safe and environment-friendly policies. To achieve this, Republic of Korea has established a plan for environment-friendly energy supplies. It is expected that policy enforcement will be accompanied by an increase in energy supply costs. An analysis of energy supply costs is necessary before the establishment of any national energy policy. This paper analyzes and compares the energy supply costs accompanying environmental and nuclear energy policies, based on the Korean National Energy Master Plan and the Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand, in order to understand the implications of these national energy policies.

An Analytical Framework for a Technological Innovation System: the Case of a Nuclear Power System

  • Lee, Tae Joon;Lee, Young-Joon
    • Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.235-286
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    • 2018
  • The aim of paper is to develop an alternative framework for the study of technological innovation systems. In contrast with conventional literature, this analytical framework is designed for entrepreneurs, i.e. actors, at the micro level rather than policy-makers at the meso or macro level. Herein, the entrepreneurial innovation system is conceptually refined by synthesizing knowledge regarding technological innovation and innovation systems. Drawing upon the intrinsic technological identity essential for innovation, the entrepreneurial innovation system is shown to involve three core changes in terms of technology, organization and market, and their couplings within its internal boundary over time. This analytical framework also takes into account the fact that the innovation system is influenced by and copes with the external environment during its evolution. Moreover, the framework of the entrepreneurial innovation system considers the recent trend of sustainable development. The technical and socio-economic characteristics of a nuclear powersystem are studied empirically to articulate an analytical framework that should be very useful for technological innovation in other energy systems by reflecting their unique features.

Analytic Hierarchy Process for Prioritizing Radiation Safety Measures in Medical Institutions

  • Hyun Suk Kim;Heejeong Jeong;Hyungbin Moon;Sang Hyun Park
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.49 no.1
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    • pp.40-49
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    • 2024
  • Background: This study aimed to prioritize policy measures to improve radiation safety management in medical institutions using the analytic hierarchy process. Materials and Methods: It adopted three policy options-engineering, education, and enforcement-to categorize safety management measures, the so-called Harvey's 3Es. Then, the radiation safety management measures obtained from the current system and other studies were organized into action plan categories. Using the derived model, this study surveyed 33 stakeholders of radiation safety management in medical institutions and analyzed the importance of each measure. Results and Discussion: As a result, these stakeholders generally identified enforcement as the most important factor for improving the safety management system. The study also found that radiation safety officers and medical physicists perceived different measures as important, indicating clear differences in opinions among stakeholders, especially in improving quality assurance in radiation therapy. Hence, the process of coordination and consensus is likely to be critical in improving the radiation safety management system. Conclusion: Stakeholders in the medical field consider enforcement as the most critical factor in improving their safety management systems. Specifically, the most crucial among the six specific action plans was the "reinforcement of the organization and workforce for safety management," with a relative importance of 25.7%.

A SD approach to the Efficiency Improvement of Electric Power Industry in Korea -Focused on the Nuclear Industry (국내 전력산업의 효율성 제고모형에 대한 SD 모형 연구 - 원자력산업을 중심으로)

  • Heo, Hoon;Lee, Myung-Ho
    • Korean System Dynamics Review
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    • v.4 no.2
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    • pp.153-171
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    • 2003
  • 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 span 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 desperately 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 (actors 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 KBPCO. Based on our analysis, we could demonstrate how simulation model can be applied to the real electric power generation in Korea.

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Evaluation and Forecast of North Korea's Nuclear Policy through Libya Model (리비아 모델을 통한 북한의 핵 정책 평가와 전망)

  • Han, Seung Jo;Shin, Jin
    • Convergence Security Journal
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.113-122
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    • 2018
  • The issue of security on the Korean peninsula is facing the greatest upheaval in 2018 with the inter-Korean summit and the US-North Korea summit. North Korea has pursued the parallel policy developing military and economic at the same time. However, North Korea is changing its route to give up nuclear weapons and focus on the economy through summit talks. Since the change in North Korea is similar to that of Libya in the past, it is necessary to analyze why North Korea is trying to abandon its nuclear program and how the process is flowing compared to the case of Libya. The Libya model was constructed and analyzed in terms of international and domestic perpectives and recognition of the situation by leadership. North Korea's nuclear policy was evaluated based on the Libya model. The nuclear development of Libya and North Korea has caused diplomatic and economic pressures from the international community and ultimately led to instability of the regime. Two countries have tried to abandon nuclear program in order to solve the instability of the regime, also gain the economic reward insead. Libya took economic benefits and secured some of the stability of the regime, but the regime collapsed under the wave of democracy due to the influx of foreign capital and ideas. North Korea will seek diplomatic and economic gains with the example of Libya, but will try to limit as much as possible the culture of democracy and the full opening that can be incidental.

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