• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.9-27
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• 2013

Nagra was established in 1972 by the Swiss nuclear power plant operators and the Federal Government to implement permanent and safe disposal of all types of radioactive waste generated in Switzerland. The Swiss Nuclear Energy Act specifies that these shall be disposed of in deep geological repositories. A number of different geological formations and sites have been investigated to date and an extended database of geological characteristics as well as data and state-of-the-art methodologies required for the evaluation of the long-term safety of repository systems have been developed. The research, development, and demonstration activities are further supported by the two underground research facilities operating in Switzerland, the Grimsel Test Site and the Mont Terri Project, along with very active collaboration of Nagra with national and international partners. A new site selection process was approved by the Federal Government in 2008 and is ongoing. This process is driven by the long-term safety and feasibility of the geological repositories and is based on a step-wise decision-making approach with a strong participatory component from the affected communities and regions. In this paper a brief history and the current status of the Swiss radioactive waste management program are presented and special characteristics that may be useful beyond the Swiss program are highlighted and discussed.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.37-47
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• 2013

This paper describes basic plans for the development of a radioactive waste disposal facility with the introduction of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) for Kenya. The specific objective of this study was to estimate the total projected waste volumes of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste (LILW) expected to be generated from the Kenyan nuclear power programme. The facility is expected to accommodate LILW to be generated from operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants for a period of 50 years. An on-site storage capacity of 700 $m^3$ at nuclear power plant sites and a final disposal repository facility of more than 7,000 $m^3$ capacity were derived by considering Korean nuclear power programme radioactive waste generation data, including Kori, Hanbit, and APR 1400 nuclear reactor data. The repository program is best suited to be introduced roughly 10 years after reactor operation. This study is important as an initial implementation of a national LILW disposal program for Kenya and other newcomer countries interested in nuclear power technology.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.65-93
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• 2023

Several countries have been operating radioactive waste disposal (RWD) programs to construct their own repositories and have used natural analogues (NA) studies directly or indirectly to ensure the reliability of the long-term safety of deep geological disposal (DGD) systems. A DGD system in Korea has been under development, and for this purpose a generic NA study is necessary. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has just launched the first national NA R&D program in Korea to identify the role of NA studies and to support the safety case in the RWD program. In this article, we review some cases of NA studies carried out in advanced countries considering crystalline rocks as candidate host rocks for high-level radioactive waste disposal. We examine the differences among these case studies and their roles in reflecting each country's disposal repository design. The legal basis and roadmap for NA studies in each country are also described. However because the results of this analysis depend upon different environmental conditions, they can be only used as important data for establishing various research strategies to strengthen the NA study environment for domestic disposal system research in Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.126-133
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• 2005

Securing of radioactive waste disposal site and the related operations for disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive waste is being actively carried out in Korea. For disposal of radioactive wastes, physicochemical and radiological status and integrity of radioactive wastes must be secured first. Also, waste generators must provide this information to disposers. In addition, to secure the safety of waste disposal, waste acceptance criteria (WAC) and site specific waste acceptance criteria (SWAC) to consider characteristics of the disposal site are required. Radioactive wastes must be processed, generated, managed and transferred in accordance with these criteria. [1] For this, evaluation of properties on each of the radioactive wastes must be performed. However, in reality, atomic power plants are experiencing difficulties in relation to this due to the large quantity of radioactive waste generation. In order to solve this problem, IAEA and major overseas countries have developed, thus are using waste certification program (WCP) and quality assurance program (QAP) [2,3]. On the basis of these programs, radioactive waste certification program has been developed for safe disposal of radioactive wastes in Korea to satisfy the provisions specified in 'low and intermediate level radioactive waste transfer guidelines' of announcement No. 2005-18 from the Ministry of Science and Technology and specific site waste acceptance criteria (tentative plan). In addition, it is being planned to administer amendment on commercial atomic power plant related procedures and ensile staff training in order for early introduction and operation of radioactive waste certification system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.205-210
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• 2005

The proposed regulation for low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility, scheduled to be revised, recommends that the waste generator should verify the radioactive waste conforms to the disposal requirements before disposing of it. According to the regulation, the radionuclide concentration of the radioactive waste, and its physical and chemical characteristics and safety must be confirmed prior to the disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive wastes, and the waste generator is required to deliver this information to the disposal facility operator. In addition, the disposal facility operator must assess the safety of the disposal site to establish the SWAC (Site Specific Waste Acceptance Criteria) in consideration of the characteristics of the site, whereas the waste generator must comply with the criteria in managing, disposing of and delivering low and intermediate level radioactive wastes. To abide by the afore-mentioned regulation and criteria, the waste generator must verify that the radioactive wastes to be disposed of are suitable for disposal before they are transported to the disposal facility, and to this end a radioactive waste certification program must be developed. This study conducted an in-depth analysis of the radioactive waste certification programs enforced in countries advanced in atomic energy to develop a draft of a certification program applicable to local power plants, and the program is currently applied as pilot to Uljin Power Plants No. 1 & 2 to prove its applicability. This study is going to analyze the results of the pilot application with a view to developing a radioactive waste certification program suitable to local conditions.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.335-344
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• 2014

The safety case program has been prepared for the development of the disposal facility of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste in Korea. For the development of the radioactive waste disposal facility, this program can be applied for the safety demonstration of the facility and for the safety judgment of development step based on the international standards and domestic development environment. Systematic safety approach of this program includes the safety strategies such as optimization, robustness, demonstrability and defense-in-depth principle which are based on the safety principle and objectives. From the quality of assessment basis, safety arguments focused on the uncertainty management and the confidence building can assure the disposal safety during the step-wise safety assessment.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.187-195
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• 2006

The regulation for the low and intermediate level radioactive waste to be transferred to the disposal facility, recently revised, require that radioactive waste generators should set up waste certification program to verify the radioactive waste conform to the waste acceptance criteria(WAC) before disposal. The radioactive waste disposal facility, scheduled to be constructed in Korea, will institute WAC for the wastes to be transferred to the facility. This WAC is expected to compose of the requirements for the radiological characterization, physical and chemical characterization, physical/chemical restriction, prohibited item, packaging, identification, labeling, and documentation. For the compliance with this regulation, The radioactive waste generators should verify that the waste meet WAC through performance of the waste certification program and are responsible for handing in all the certification documents to the disposal facility. This waste certification program plan was set up as a preliminary program for the certification of radioactive waste generated in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and should be further revised until preparation of WAC by disposal agent.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.509-518
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• 2023

The Kori Unit 1 nuclear power plant, which is planned to be dismantled after permanent shutdown, is expected to generate a large amount of various types of radioactive waste during the dismantling process. For the disposal of Very-low-level waste, which is expected to account for the largest amount of generation, the Korea Radioactive waste Agency (KORAD) is in the process of detailed design to build a 3-phase landfill disposal facility in Gyeongju. In addition, a large container is being developed to efficiently dispose of metal and concrete waste, which are mainly generated as Very low-level waste of decommissioning. In this study, based on the design characteristics of the 3-phase landfill disposal facility and the large container under development, radiation exposure dose evaluation was performed considering the normal and accident scenarios of radiation workers during operation. The direct exposure dose evaluation of workers during normal operation was performed using the MCNP computer program, and the internal and external exposure dose evaluation due to damage to the decommissioning waste package during a drop accident was performed based on the evaluation method of ICRP. For the assumed scenario, the exposure dose of worker was calculated to determine whether the exposure dose standards in the domestic nuclear safety act were satisfied. As a result of the evaluation, it was confirmed that the result was quite low, and the result that satisfied the standard limit was confirmed, and the radiational disposal suitability for the 3-phase landfill disposal facility of the large container for dismantled radioactive waste, which is currently under development, was confirmed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.239-243
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• 2003

Environmental monitoring program is investigated based on Atomic Energy Law and foreign country radiation monitoring programs on low-and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal site. It is anticipated that the number of radiation measurements and samples will be higher than those of NPP's. The radiation monitoring program on LLW disposal site should be well prepared reflecting PA, site characteristics and regulation.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.157-178
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• 2013

This study gives a conceptual and basic direction to develop a URL (underground research laboratory) program for establishing the performance and safety of a deep geological disposal system in Korea. The concept of deep geological disposal is one of the preferred methodologies for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Advanced countries with radioactive waste disposal have developed their own disposal concepts reasonable to their social and environmental conditions and applied to their commercial projects. Deep geological disposal system is a multi-barrier system generally consisting of an engineered barrier and natural barrier. A disposal facility and its host environment can be relied on a necessary containment and isolation over timescales envisaged as several to tens of thousands of years. A disposal system is not allowed in the commercial stage of the disposal program without a validation and demonstration of the performance and safety of the system. All issues confirming performance and safety of a disposal system include investigation, analysis, assessment, design, construction, operation and closure from planning to closure of the deep geological repository. Advanced countries perform RD&D (research, development & demonstration) programs to validate the performance and safety of a disposal system using a URL facility located at the preferred rock area within their own territories. The results and processes from the URL program contribute to construct technical criteria and guidelines for site selection as well as suitability and safety assessment of the final disposal site. Furthermore, the URL program also plays a decisive role in promoting scientific understanding of the deep geological disposal system for stakeholders, such as the public, regulator, and experts.