• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.155-162
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• 2008

Inventories to be disposed of, reference turnup, and source terms for CANDU spent fuel were evaluated for geological disposal system design. The historical and projected inventory by 2040 is expected to be 14,600 MtU under the condition of 30-year lifetime for unit 1 and 40-year lifetime for other units in Wolsong site. As a result of statistical analysis for discharge burnup of the spent fuels generated by 2007, average and stand deviation revealed 6,987 MWD/MtU and 1,167, respectively. From this result, the reference burnup was determined as 8,100 MWD/MtU which covers 84% of spent fuels in total. Source terms such as nuclide concentration for a long-term safety analysis, decay heat, thermo-mechanical analysis, and radiation intenity and spectrum was characterized by using ORIGEN-ARP containing conservativeness in the aspect of decay heat up to several thousand years. The results from this study will be useful for the design of storage and disposal facilities.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.38-61
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• 2023

An Excavation Damaged Zone(EDZ) caused by blasting impact changes rock properties, in situ stress distribution, etc., and its effects are noticeable at around a radioactive waste repository located at deep underground. In particular, the increase in permeability due to the formation of cracks may significantly increase the amount of groundwater inflow and the possibility of radioactive nuclide outflow. In this study, FLAC2D and FLAC3D were used to analyze the mechanical and thermal behaviors for three categories: a)No EDZ, b)Uniform EDZ, and c)Random EDZ. It was found that the tunnel displacement in the Random EDZ case was 423% higher than that in the No EDZ case and was 16% higher than that in the Uniform EDZ case. Tunnel inflow in the Random EDZ was also 17.3% and 10.8% higher than that in the No EDZ and the Uniform EDZ case, respectively. The permeability around the tunnel was increased by up to 10 times in the corner of the tunnel wall and roof due to the stress redistribution after excavation. From the computer simulation, it was found that the permeability around the tunnel wall was partially increased but the overall tunnel inflow was decreased with increase of stress ratio. Mechanical analysis using FLAC 3D showed similar results. Slight difference between 2D and 3D could be explained with the development of plastic zone during the advance of tunnel excavation in 3D.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.849-856
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• 2020

In the gamma-ray energy spectrum study, nuclide analysis through energy analysis is very important. High-purity Ge detectors, which are commonly used for gamma-ray energy measurements, are commonly used because of their high energy resolution and relatively high detection efficiency. However, in order to maintain a high energy resolution, the semiconductor detector has a problem in that it is difficult to maintain the original performance if the noise generated from the surrounding environment is not effectively blocked, and the effect of the expensive device is not achieved. Therefore, in this study, ground loop isolator (NEXT-001HDGL) was used to remove the electrical noise generated from the detector. In order to test the effect of improving energy resolution, HPGe detection device newly installed in the proton accelerator KOMAC was used. In the case of gamma-ray energy 2614 keV, the energy resolution was improved from (0.16 ± 0.02) % to (0.11 ± 0.01) %, and in the case of gamma-ray energy 662 keV of 137Cs isotope, the energy resolution was improved from (0.72 ± 0.07) % to (0.27 ± 0.03) %. This result is considered to be very useful for the gamma ray spectrum study using the HPGe detection equipment of KOMAC(Korea Multi-Purpose Accelerator Complex).

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.95-104
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• 2005

Effects of the aluminum melting temperature, melting time and a kind of flux agents on the distribution of surrogate nuclide were investigated in the electric furnace at the aluminum melting including surrogate radionuclides(Co, Cs, Sr) in order to establish the fundamental research of the melting technology for the metallic wastes from the decommissioning of the TRIGA research reactor. It was verified that the fluidity of aluminum melt was increased by adding flux agent but it was slightly varied according to the sort of flux agents. The results of the XRD analysis showed that the surrogate nuclides move into the slag phase and then they were combined with aluminum oxide to form more stable compound. The weight of the slag generated from aluminum melting test increased with increasing melting temperature and melting time and the increase rate of the slag depended on the kind of flux agents added in the aluminum waste. The concentration of the cobalt in the ingot phase decreased with increasing reaction temperature but it increased in the slag phase up to 90$\%$according to the experimental conditions. The volatile nuclides such as Cs and Sr considerably transferred from the ingot phase to the slag and dust phase.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2006

For the accurate safety assessment of potential radioactive waste disposal site which is located in the crystalline rock it is important to simulate the mass transportation through engineered and natural barrier system precisely, characterized by porous and fractured media respectively. In this work the methods to construct discrete fracture network for the analysis of flow and mass transport through fractured-porous medium are described. The probability density function is adopted in generating fracture properties for the realistic representation of real fractured rock. In order to investigate the intersection between a porous and a fractured medium described by a 2 dimensional rectangular and a cuboid grid respectively, an additional imaginary fracture is adopted at the face of a porous medium intersected by a fracture. In order to construct large scale flow paths an effective method to find interconnected fractures and algorithms of swift detecting connectivities between fractures or porous medium and fractures are proposed. These methods are expected to contribute to the development of numerical program for the simulation of radioactive nuclide transport through fractured-porous medium from radioactive waste disposal site.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2022

Background: The radionuclide inventory calculation codes such as ORIGEN and FISPACT collapse neutron reaction libraries with energy spectra and generate an effective one-group cross-section. Since the nuclear cross-section data, energy group (g) structure, and other input details used by the two codes are different, there may be differences in each code's activation inventory calculation results. In this study, the calculation results of neutron-induced activation inventory using ORIGEN and FISPACT were compared and analyzed regarding radioactive waste classification and worker exposure during nuclear decommissioning. Materials and Methods: Two neutron spectra were used to obtain the comparison results: Watt fission spectrum and thermalized energy spectrum. The effective one-group cross-sections were generated for each type of energy group structure provided in ORIGEN and FISPACT. Then, the effective one-group cross-sections were analyzed by focusing on ⁵⁹Ni, ⁶³Ni, ⁹⁴Nb, ⁶⁰Co, ¹⁵²Eu, and ¹⁵⁴Eu, which are the main radionuclides of stainless steel, carbon steel, zircalloy, and concrete for decommissioning nuclear power plant (NPP). Results and Discussion: As a result of the analysis, ¹⁵⁴Eu and ⁵⁹Ni may be overestimated or underestimated depending on the code selection by up to 30%, because the cross-section library used for each code is different. When ORIGEN-44g, -49g, and -238g structures are selected, the differences of the calculation results of effective one-group cross-section according to group structure selection were less than 1% for the six nuclides applied in this study, and when FISPACT-69g, -172g, and -315g were applied, the difference was less than 1%, too. Conclusion: ORIGEN and FISPACT codes can be applied to activation calculations with their own built-in energy group structures for decommissioning NPP. Since the differences in calculation results may occur depending on the selection of codes and energy group structures, it is appropriate to properly select the energy group structure according to the accuracy required in the calculation and the characteristics of the problem.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.20-25
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• 2022

In this study, the applicability of microalgae was evaluated for eco-friendly decontamination of cesium-137 (Cs-137) and strontium-90 (Sr-90), which are radioactive nuclides contained in radioactive waste. The monolithic radioactive solution used in the experiment was manufactured at a concentration of 1.5 Bq/mL Cs-137 and 1.0 Bq/mL Sr-90 by diluting a standard radioactive solution and distilled water. This experiment used two types of microalgae, Chlorella Vulgaris was used for Sr-90 decontamination and Hematococcus pluvialis for Cs-137 decontamination. The experimental method is to put the microalgae cultured for 2 weeks into a bottle with a semi-permeable membrane, and then put the bottle in which the microalgae was put into the manufactured radioactive solution, so that the microalgae and the radioactive solution react through the semi-permeable membrane for 48 hours. For the radioactivity concentration analysis of each sample, a gamma-ray nuclide analyzer was used for Cs-137, a γ-ray isotope, and a Liquid Scintillation Count(LSC) was used f or Sr-90, a β-ray isotope. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that about 88.0 % of Cs-137 and about 89.7 % of Sr-90 could be decontaminated, and about 98.6 % of Sr-90 was finally able to be decontaminated by the two-stage decontamination method.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.228-235
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• 2015

The efficiency and applicability of the solid phase extraction disk method in a ²²⁶Ra analysis were examined by the gamma ray spectrometer (GRS) method using a Marinelli beaker and the liquid scintillation counter (LSC) method for groundwater. The recovered ²²⁶Ra, which was filtered by the solid phase extraction disk, was analyzed using gamma ray spectrometer The disks, which were pretreated for caulking the daughter nuclide, were sealed with polyethylene film. Distilled water was used for the blank value of the ²²⁶Ra activity. The recovery values of ²¹⁴Bi and ²¹⁴Pb in the solid phase extraction disk, which used ²²⁶Ra standard material, were 80% (295.21 Kev) and 104% (351.92 Kev), respectively, which were higher than 75% determined by the LSC. The injection of nitrogen gas into the measuring chamber reduced the interference values by about 10%. The detection limits of the ²²⁶Ra activity in a blank sample of 5 L were 0.17~0.40 pCi/L after 80,000 seconds of measuring time. The relationship of the ²²⁶Ra activity in the solid phase extraction disk method and in the LSC method in seven groundwater samples showed a correlation coefficient value 0.987, which implies the applicability of the solid phase extraction disk method. The results showed that ²²⁶Ra activity in groundwater using the solid phase extraction disk method has the following benefits: simple pretreatment, time saving, high recovery values, a low detection limit, and so on. Compared with the LSC method and the GRS method using the Marinelli beaker for the ²²⁶Ra analysis, the solid phase extraction disk method could be useful in groundwater samples with low levels of activities of radionuclides because the method is not restricted by the volume of the sample.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.343-356
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• 2016

The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) has developed a dual-purpose metal cask for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel that has been generated by domestic light-water reactors. The metal cask was designed in compliance with international and domestic technology standards, and safety was the most important consideration in developing the design. It was designed to maintain its integrity for 50 years in terms of major safety factors. The metal cask ensures the minimization of waste generated by maintenance activities during the storage period as well as the safe management of the waste. An activation evaluation of the main body, which includes internal and external components of metal casks whose design lifetime has expired, provides quantitative data on their radioactive inventory. The radioactive inventory of the main body and the components of the metal cask were calculated by applying the MCNP5 ORIGEN-2 evaluation system and by considering each component's chemical composition, neutron flux distribution, and reaction rate, as well as the duration of neutron irradiation during the storage period. The evaluation results revealed that 10 years after the end of the cask's design life, $^{60}Co$ had greater radioactivity than other nuclides among the metal materials. In the case of the neutron shield, nuclides that emit high-energy gamma rays such as $^{28}Al$ and $^{24}Na$ had greater radioactivity immediately after the design lifetime. However, their radioactivity level became negligible after six months due to their short half-life. The surface exposure dose rates of the canister and the main body of the metal cask from which the spent nuclear fuel had been removed with expiration of the design lifetime were determined to be at very low levels, and the radiation exposure doses to which radiation workers were subjected during the decommissioning process appeared to be at insignificant levels. The evaluations of this study strongly suggest that the nuclide inventory of a spent nuclear fuel metal cask can be utilized as basic data when decommissioning of a metal cask is planned, for example, for the development of a decommissioning plan, the determination of a decommissioning method, the estimation of radiation exposure to workers engaged in decommissioning operations, the management/reuse of radioactive wastes, etc.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.123-131
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• 2009

Purpose: We tested a sample of nuclear medicine workers at Korean healthcare institutions for internal contamination with radioactive isotopes, measuring concentrations and evaluating doses of individual exposure. Materials and Methods: The detection and measurement was performed on urine samples collected from 25 nuclear medicine workers at three large hospitals located in Seoul. Urine samples were collected once a week, 100~200 mL samples were gathered up to 6~10 times weekly. A high-purity germanium detector was used to measure gamma radiations in urine samples for the presence of radioactive isotopes. Based on the detection results, we estimated the amounts of intake and committed effective doses using IMBA software. In cases where committed effective doses could not be adequately evaluated with IMBA software, we estimated individual committed effective doses for radionuclides with a very short half life such as $^{99m}Tc$ and $^{123}I$, using the methods recommended by International Atomic Energy Agency. Results: Radionuclides detected through the analysis of urine samples included $^{99m}Tc$, $^{123}I$, $^{131}I$ and $^{201}Tl$, as well as $^{18}F$, a nuclide used in Positron Emission Tomography examinations. The committed effective doses, calculated based on the radionuclide concentrations in urine samples, ranged from 0 to 5 mSv, but were, in the majority of cases, less than 1 mSv. The committed effective dose exceeded 1 mSv in three of the samples, and all three were workers directly handling radioactive sources. No nurses were found to have a committed effective dose in excess of 1 mSv. Conclusions: To improve the accuracy of results, it may be necessary to conduct a long-term study, performed over a time span wide enough to allow the clear determination of the influence of seasonal factors. A larger sample should also help increase the reliability of results. However, as most Korean nuclear medicine workers are currently not necessary to monitored routinely for internal contamination with radionuclides. Notwithstanding, a continuous effort is recommended to reduce any unnecessary exposure to radioactive substances, even if in inconsequential amounts, by regularly surveying workplace environments and frequently monitoring atmospheric concentrations of radionuclides.