• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.195-202
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• 2018

As a rule, geological disposal is considered a safe method for final disposal of high-level radioactive waste. However, some long-lived fission products like $^{99}Tc$ and $^{129}I$ contained in spent nuclear fuel are highly mobile as less sorbing anionic species in the subsurface environment and can mainly cause exposure dose to the ecosystem by emission of beta rays in the hundreds of keV range. Therefore, if these two nuclides can be separated and converted with high efficiency into radioactively unharmful nuclides, this would have a positive effect on disposal safety. One candidate method is to transmute these two nuclides in nuclear reactors into short-lived nuclides or into stable nuclides. For this purpose, it is necessary to evaluate which reactor type is more efficient in burning these two nuclides. In this study, the simulation results of nuclear transmutation of $^{99}Tc$ and $^{129}I$ in light water reactor (PWR), heavy water reactor (CANDU) and fast neutron reactor (SFR, MET-1000) are compared and discussed.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.62-71
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• 2019

We conducted DC resistivity and MT survey to obtain the resistivity structure of the central Myanmar basin. We tried to analyze the underground structure through the resistivity variation of Myanmar by performing representative geophysical survey methods because researches on the electrical resistivity structure are insufficient in Myanmar. The electrical resistivity is expected to be low considering the marine sedimentary rocks composed of shale and sandstone in this area. The DC resistivity and MT survey were carried out using SmartRho of Geolux Co., Ltd. and MTU-5A of Phoenix geophysics Ltd., respectively, to visualize the electrical resistivity structure of study area. DC resistivity and MT survey showed an electrical resistivity less than dozens of ohm-m within the depth of 100 m. In particular, MT survey data were almost similar to TM and TE modes in the frequency range above 1 Hz. The two-dimensional inversion of MT data showed a subsurface structure with low resistivity below 150 ohm-m divided into east-west direction. We confirmed that the inversions of DC resisitivity and MT data along an overlapped survey line represented similar results. In the future, considering the high electrical conductivity, it would be effective to perform DC resistivity and MT survey simultaneously to study the electrical resistivity structure of the central Myanmar basin.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.107-119
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• 2022

Excavation-Disturbed Zone (EDZ) is an important design factor in constructing final disposal facilities for spent nuclear fuel, since EDZ affects mechanical stability including a spacing between disposal holes, and the hydraulic properties within EDZ plays a significant role in estimating in-flow rate of groundwater as well as a subsequent corrosion rate of a canister. Thus, it is highly required to characterize in-situ EDZ with precision and control the EDZ occurrence while excavating disposal facilities and constructing relevant underground research facilities. In this report, we not only reviewed EDZ-related researches carried out in the ONKALO facility of Finland but also examined appropriate methods for field inspection and quality control of EDZ occurrence. From the review, GPR can be the most efficient method for in-situ characterization of EDZ since it does not demand drilling a borehole that may disturb a surrounding environment of caverns. And the EDZ occurrence was dominant at a cavern floor and it ranged from 0 to 70 cm. These can provide useful information in developing necessary EDZ-related regulations for domestic disposal facilities.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.119-130
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• 2015

Impacts of Argo temperature assimilation on the analysis fields in the East Sea is investigated by using DAESROM, the East Sea Regional Ocean Model with a 3-dimensional variational assimilation module (Kim et al., 2009). Namely, we produced analysis fields in 2009, in which temperature profiles, sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH) anomaly were assimilated (Exp. AllDa) and carried out additional experiment by withdrawing Argo temperature data (Exp. NoArgo). When comparing both experimental results using assimilated temperature profiles, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of the Exp. AllDa is generally lower than the Exp. NoArgo. In particular, the Argo impacts are large in the subsurface layer, showing the RMSE difference of about $0.5^{\circ}C$. Based on the observations of 14 surface drifters, Argo impacts on the current and temperature fields in the surface layer are investigated. In general, surface currents along the drifter positions are improved in the Exp. AllDa, and large RMSE differences (about 2.0~6.0 cm/s) between both experiments are found in drifters which observed longer period in the southern region where Argo density was high. On the other hand, Argo impacts on the SST fields are negligible, and it is considered that SST assimilation with 1-day interval has dominant effects. Similar to the difference of surface current fields between both experiments, SSH fields also reveal significant difference in the southern East Sea, for example the southwestern Yamato Basin where anticyclonic circulation develops. The comparison of SSH fields implies that SSH assimilation does not correct the SSH difference caused by withdrawing Argo data. Thus Argo assimilation has an important role to reproduce meso-scale circulation features in the East Sea.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.487-493
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• 2007

This study was carried out to evaluate soil property between campsites located at Joongsanri, Daewonsa old, Daewonsa new, Baekmudong and their adjoining forest areas in the eastern area of Jirisan National Park. The survey results showed that there existed a significant difference(p<0.05) between the two areas in soil property, such as soil bulk density, soil hardness, soil pH, water infiltration and soil respiration rates. However, there was no difference in soil property by depth between surface soil($0{\sim}15cm$) and subsurface soil($15{\sim}30cm$) for the two areas(p>0.05). In case of soil bulk density, its values in campsites were significantly higher ($1.29{\sim}1.44g/cm^3$) than in forest areas($0.95g/cm^3$), while soil hardness was significantly lower(p<0.05) in forest areas($1.44kg/cm^2$) than in campsites($2.9{\sim}4.0kg/cm^2$). Soil pore space was significantly lower in campsites($45.7{\sim}51.4%$) than in forest areas(64.3%), and soil pH in forest areas indicated pH 5.46 and that of the campsites was distributed at the range from pH 6.49 to pH 6.38. In addition, water infiltration was significantly lower in campsites($0.79{\sim}2.06cc/sec$) than in forest areas(18.7cc/sec), while soil respiration rates were significantly higher in forest areas($0.58gCO_2/m^2/h$) than in campsites($0.13{\sim}0.34gCO_2/m^2/h$).

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.27-35
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• 2003

The study site located in an industrial complex has a Precambrian age gneiss as a bedrock. The poorly-developed, disturbed soils in the study site have loamy-textured surface soil (1 to 2 m) and gravelly sand alluvium subsurface (2 to 6 m) on the top of weathered gneiss bedrock. The depth of the groundwater table was about 3.5 m below ground surface and increased toward down-gradient of the site. The hydraulic conductivity of transmitted zone (gravelly coarse sand) was in the range of 5.0${\times}$10$\^$-2/∼1.85${\times}$10$\^$-1/ cm/sec. The fine sand layer was in the range of 1.5${\times}$10$\^$-3/ to 7.6${\times}$10$\^$-3/ cm/sec. and the reclaimed upper soil layer was less than 10$\^$-4/ cm/sec. Toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (TEX) was the major contaminant in the soil and groundwater. The average depth of the soil contamination was about 1.5 m in the gravelly sand alluvium layer. At the depth interval 2.4∼4.8 m, the highest contamination in the soil is located approximately 50 to 70 m from the suspected source areas. The concentration of TEX in the groundwater was highest in the suspected source area and a lesser concentration in the center and southwest parts of the site. The TEX distribution in the groundwater is associated with their distribution in the soil. Microbial isolation showed that Pseudomonas flurescence, Burkholderia cepacia, and Acinetobactor lwoffi were the dominant aerobic bacteria in the contaminated soils. The analytical results of the groundwater indicated that the concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO), nitrate, and sulfate in the contaminated area were significantly lower than their concentrations in the none-contaminated control area. The results also indicated that groundwater at the contaminated area is under anaerobic condition and sulfate reduction is the predominant terminal electron accepting process. The total attenuation rate was 0.0017 day$\^$-1/ and the estimated first-order degradation rate constant (λ) was 0.0008 day$\^$-1/.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.3-21
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• 1997

The remediation of contamiated sites using currently available remediation technologies requires long term treatment and huge costs, and it is uncertain to achieve the remediation goal to drop contamination level to either back-ground or health-based standards by using such technologies. Intrinsic remediation technology is the remediation technology that relies on the mechanisms of natural attenuation for the containment and elimination of contaminants in subsurface environments. Initial costs for the intrinsic remediation may be higher than conventional treatment technologies because the most comprehensive site assessment for intrinsic remediation is required. Total remediation cost, however may be the lowest among the presently employed technologies. The applicability of intrinsic remediation in the contaminated sites should be theroughly investigated to achieve the remedial goal of the technology. This paper provides the frame of the extended site assessment procedure based on knowledge of biodegradability to evaluate the applicability of intrinsic remediation. This site assessment procedure is composed of 5 steps such as preliminary site screening, assessment of the current knowledge of biodegradability, selecting the appropriate approach, analyzing the contaminant fate and transport and planning the monitoring schedule. In the step 1, followings are to be decided 1) whether to go on the the detailed assessment or not based on the rules of thumb concerning the biodegradability of organic compounds, 2) which protocol document is selected to follow for detailed site assessment according to the site characteristics, contaminants and the relative distance between the contamination and potential receptors. In the step 2, the database for biodegradability are searched and evaluated. In the step 3, the appropriate biodegradability pathways for the contaminated site is selected. In the step 4, the fate and transport of the contaminants at the site are analyzed through modeling. In the step 5, the monitoring schedule is planned according to the result of the modeling. Through this procedure, users may able to have the rational and systematic informations for the application of intrinsic remediation. Also the collected data and informations can be used as the basic to re-select the other remediation technology if it reaches a conclusion not to applicate intrinsic remediation technology at the site from the site assessment procedure.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.94-101
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• 2015

To mitigate the greenhouse gas emission, many carbon capture and storage projects are underway all over the world. In Korea, many studies focus on the storage of $CO_2$ in the offshore sediment. Assurance of safety is one of the most important issues in the geological storage of $CO_2$. Especially, the assessment of possibility of leakage and amount of leaked $CO_2$ is very crucial to analyze the safety of marine geological storage of $CO_2$. In this study, the leakage of injected $CO_2$ through fault was numerically studied. TOUGH2-MP ECO2N was used to simulate the subsurface behavior of injected $CO_2$. The storage site was 150 m thick saline aquifer located 825 m under the continental shelf. It was assumed that $CO_2$ leak was happened through the fault located 1,000 m away from the injection well. The injected $CO_2$ could migrate through the aquifer by both pressure difference driven by injection and buoyancy force. The enough pressure differences made it possible the $CO_2$ to migrate to the bottom of the fault. The $CO_2$ could be leaked to seabed through the fault due to the buoyancy force. Prior to leakage of the injected $CO_2$, the formation water leaked to seabed. When $CO_2$ reached the seabed, leakage of formation water stopped but the same amount of sea water starts to flow into the underground as the amount of leaked $CO_2$. To analyze the effect of injection rate on the leakage behavior, the injection rate of $CO_2$ was varied as 0.5, 0.75, and $1MtCO_2/year$. The starting times of leakage at 1, 0.75 and $0.5MtCO_2/year$ injection rates are 11.3, 15.6 and 23.2 years after the injection, respectively. The leakage of $CO_2$ to the seabed continued for a period time after the end of $CO_2$ injection. The ratios of total leaked $CO_2$ to total injected $CO_2$ at 1, 0.75 and $0.5MtCO_2/year$ injection rates are 19.5%, 11.5% and 2.8%, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.580-589
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• 2015

The artificially grown forests of larch, planted in accordance with the nationwide afforestation policy in the 1970s, are located inside national parks. This study intended to induce a forestation system by which the forests develop into an ecologically healthy and broadleaved ecosystem with broad species diversity. For this, the aspects of natural regeneration of broadleaves from 2010 to 2013 after thinning by density (30%, 50%, and 70%) in 2009 were surveyed using the larch forest in the Woljeong Temple region inside Odaesan National Park. There were no trees that were larger than 2 cm in in diameter at breast height among the trees recently introduced between 2012 and 2013. A significant number of herbs have been introduced to the subsurface alongside young arboreal trees species such as Bumalda bladdernut, Acer triflorum, Cornus controversa etc and shrubs. However, many woody species did not survive the competition with herbs and repeated withering and regeneration. The number of woody species generated within the 30% cutting area was 440 species in 2013 and this figure has been increasing twofold each year. The number of woody plants within the 50% cutting area also showed an upward tendency and most plants did not survive in the competition with herbs and Sasa borealis and withered in only 1 ~ 2 years after generation. Unlike other thinning areas, the 70% cutting area showed 608 broadleaved trees, reflecting a decrease from 748 trees in 2012. This appeared to be attributed to the luxuriance of S. borealis and the sharp increase of fatsia following the inflow of total sunlight to the forest floor. Herbs were hardly generated due to the influence of S. borealis. Regarding the density for thinning at 50% or upper height, the forest treatment division shall maintain a proper density in the course of inducing artificial forestation of larch into natural broadleaved forests considering the luxuriance of sasa borealis and herbs due to the inflow of total sunlight to the forest floor.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.53-59
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• 2001

There is a lot of method to manage the insanitary landfill but vertical cutoff walls have been widespreadly used and were installed into the subsurface to act as a barrier to horizontal groundwater flow, The stabilized material such as specialized cement or mixed soil with additives has been generally applied for the materials of the deep soil mixing barrier in korea. The amount of the stabilized material is dependent on the field conditions, because the mixing ratio of the material and the field soil should achieve a requirement in the coefficient of permeability, lower than 1.0$\times$$10^{7}$cm/sec. This study determined the quantity and optimized function ratio of the stabilized material in the formation process of the mixed barrier that was added with stabilized material on the field soil classified into SW-SC under USCS (Unified Soil Classification System). After that the fly ash and lime were selected as an additives an that could improve the function of the stabilized material and then the method to improve the functional progress in the usage of putting into the stabilized material as an appropriate ratio was studied and reviewed. The author used the flexible-wall permeameter for measuring the permeability and unconfined compressive strength tester for compressive strength, and in the view of environmental engineering the absorption test of heavy metals and leaching test regulated by Korean Waste Management Act were performed. As the results, the suitable mixing ratio of the stabilized material in the deep soil mixing barrier was determined as 13 percent. To make workability easy, the ratio of stabilized material and water was proven to be 1 : 1.5. With the results, the range of the portion of the additives(fly ash : lime= 70 : 30) was proven to be 20-40% for improving the function of the stabilized material, lowering of permeability. In heavy metal absorption assessment of the mixing barrier system with the additives, the result of heavy metal absorption was proved to be almost same with the case of the original stabilized material; high removal efficiency of heavy metals. In addition, the leaching concentration of heavy metals from the leaching test for the environmental hazard assessment showed lower than the regulated criteria.