• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.151-163
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• 2008

Since the country's opening to the world, China's rapid economic growth has resulted in strong demand for a wide variety of mineral commodities. During the same period, China's mineral production increased sharply. China's increased mineral production and demand affected the worldwide availability of minerals and metals, the market prices, and trade. Ministry of Land and Resources of China (MLR) planned to build as many as 10 strategic mineral reserve, including reserves of aluminium, copper, manganese, uranium, and other mineral that the country urgently needed. In white paper of China's mineral resources, China is planning the mineral resources conservation and its reasonable utilization, domestic supply increase of resources, activation of cooperative development with foreign partners, balance in resources development and environment conservation, and sustainable resources management as the mineral resources policies for the China's economic development.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.253-253
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• 2009

전세계적 고유가 및 $CO_2$ 배출로 인한 지구 온난화 문제 동 앞으로의 에너지 개발은 지속가능하며, 환경친화적이어야 한다. 따라서 가장 값싼 에너지원의 하나이며, 또한 환경문제에서도 유리한 원자력 에너지에 대한 세계적인 관심이 지난 약 30년 정도의 침체기간을 거친후 미국, 중국, 인도, 유럽, 아시아 등을 중심으로 다시 부활하고 있다. 그러나 미래 원자력에너지의 활발한 이용 및 지속 가능성을 위해서는 고준위 방사성 폐기물의 처리문제가 반드시 해결되어야 하며, 그 중에서도 사용후핵연료의 관리문제는 원자력 발전소의 계속 운전을 위해 시급히 해결되어야 한다. 한국원자력연구원도 2008년 12월 결정된 정부의 "미래 원자력시스템 개발 Action Plan" 을 통해 이러한 사용후핵연료의 관리문제를 해결하기 위한 연구 과제를 10여년 동안 수행해오고 있으며, 그 중 하나가 파이로(Pyroprocess) 공정개발이다. 1997년부터 관련연구가 착수되어, 2001년부터는 약 6년간에 걸쳐 파이로의 전처리 공정 및 전해환원 공정에 대한 실험실 규모 실증시설인 ACPF(Advanced spent fuel Conditioning Process Facility)를 개발한 바 있다. 또한 향후 파이로 기술의 상용화를 위해 2016년 까지 약 10톤/년 규모의 공학규모 파이로 실증시설(ESPF)을 건설하고 이를 기초로 2025년까지 100톤/년 규모의 파이로 상용시설 (KAPF) 을 건설하여 여기서 나온 우라늄 및 TRU 물질을 이용해 2030년까지 개발 예정인 소듐냉각 고속로에 필요한 핵연료를 제작, 공급하는 계획을 가지고 있다. 이 논문에서는 파이로 시설개발의 가장 중요한 인자중 하나인 시설의 안전성 확보를 위해 외국 및 국내에서의 연구개발 현황을 알아보고 안전성 분석 및 평가방법에 대한 기본 인자들을 도출해 보았다. 또한 파이로 시설의 인허가를 위한 사용후핵연료 처리시설 규제관련 국, 내외의 연구현황도 알아보았다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.665-670
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• 2003

This study investigated the thermodynamic and the thermal decomposition properties of high concentration nitrate salts waste water for the lagoon sludge treatment. The thermodynamic property was carried out by COACH and GEMINI II based on the composition of nitrate Salts waste water. The thermal decomposition property was carried out by TG-DTA and XRD. Ammonium nitrate and sodium nitrate were decomposed at $250^{\circ}C$$730^{\circ}C$$450^{\circ}C$$Na_2O$ into stable $Na_2O$.$Al_2O_3$. The flow sheet for nitrate salts waste water treatment was proposed based on the these properties data. These will be used by the basic data of the process simulation.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.291-307
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• 2018

Australia is the world's top gold, nickel, iron ore, lead, zinc and uranium, and is ranked in the top five in many other important minerals. Extension to existing resources will continue to support well-established local production. There are perceptions by some that Australia is a mature exploration destination where the easily won near-surface deposits were largely discovered many decades ago. In recent years, Australia faces increasing global competition for investment spending in all jurisdictions in which mineral exploration is encouraged. Many regional communities face the threat of losing their main economic driver as a number of long-term mines are reaching the end of their economic life. However, given the trend of increasing mineral demand due to the 4th industrial revolution, it is considered that Korea is also an opportunity to acquire global competitiveness of geoscience and mining technology by smart and digital mining, and by ICT-convergence technology R&D.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.133-138
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• 2002

Microbial Fe (III) reduction is important for the biogeochemical cycle in the sediment of freshwater system. Also, the Fe (III) reducing mechanism make a model of oxidizing organic compounds and reducing toxic heavy metals, such as chrome or uranium. Thirty-seven strains which have Fe (III) reducing activity were isolated from sediments in lake Soyang and Chunho reservoir. The initial concentration of Fe (II) was the highest in sediments of lake Soyang. However, the highest Fe (III) reducing activity was shown in Chunho reservoir. All isolates were tested for Fe (III) reducing activity. Strains C2 and C3, which were isolated from sediments of Chunho reservoir, showed the highest activity. These strains were tested to see if they utilize various electron donors such as glucose, yeast extract, acetate, ethanol and toluene. Significantly, glucose and yeast extract were used as electron donors. Also these strains were conformed to use humid acid and nitrate as electron accepters. The 16S rRNA sequences of strains C2 and C3 were closely related to Aeromonas hydrophila with 95% similarity.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.20 no.1 s.26
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• pp.28-38
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• 2006

Since the radioactivity of U was discovered by Becquerel in 1896, a number of radiometric dating techniques based on radioactive decay have been developed with the help of precise and accurate instruments. Among them, radiocarbon dating was introduced as the most effective method in archeology in Korea. However, though the radiocarbon methods have contributed greatly to the development of archeology in Korea, it is limited to organics in a matrix of soil and sediment, including organic carbon, charcoal, bone and so on. If there are no organics in some paleolitic sites, other methods are required for dating. Therefore, we introduced OSL (Optically Stimulated Luminescence) dating method in this paper. The method is mainly based on quartz grains or other particles. The aim of this paper is to discuss about sampling method and the limitation of its application in archeology.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.73-81
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• 2018

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), one of the most commonly used instruments for metal analysis, was used to determine total uranium in soil. The method was named as "Modified ASTM C1345-96". When comparing with ASTM C1345-96, digestion time (2~3 days) was shorten to 7 hours and the treatment in furnace was eliminated. In analyses of 26 field soil samples, there was a significant difference in the average concentration of total uranium between modified ASTM C1345-96 and ASTM C1345-96 (F : 6.22 > Fc : 4.03, significance level : 0.05, n=26). The average concentration of modified ASTM C1345-96 was 1.8 times larger than that of ASTM C1345-96. In addition, modified ASTM C1345-96 was compared with other acid digestion methods for soil including ISO 11466, Modified ISO 11466, US EPA-3051, US EPA-3051A and US EPA-3052 using a certificated reference material (SRM 2711a, NIST) and field soil samples with different level of organic matter content (1.6%, 5.8%, 10.6%). Modified ASTM C1345-96 showed the best accuracy of 93.01% for SRM 2711a. Also, modified ASTM C1345-96 showed the higher extraction rates than other digestion methods by 11~45%.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.642-647
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• 2011

The fabrication characteristics of porous uranium oxide granules from $U_3O_8$ powder was investigated in terms of initial particle bed motions such as slumping and rolling, thermal treatment conditions, and rotational velocities in slumping motion using a rotary voloxidizer. With respect to the initial particle bed motion the recovery rate of granule of above 1 mm in slumping motion was higher than that in the rolling motion. Rolling motion was changed into slumping motion with high slumping frequency by formation of granules from fine particles. Recovery rate of granule significantly increased with the increas in thermal treatment temperature and time of upto 10 h. As the rotational velocity of voloxidizer in the case of the initial particle bed showing slumping motion increased, the recovery rate of granule increased from 81.5 to 88.7%. However, the rotational velocity of 2 rpm provided an effective density, crushing strength and sphericity of granules.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.52-69
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• 2002

The WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant), located 42km east of Carlsbad, New Mexico (NM), in bedded salt 655m below the surface, is a mined repository constructed by the US DOE for the permanent disposal of transuranic (TRU) wastes generated by activities related to defence of the US since 1970. Its historical disposal operation began in March 1999 following receipt of a final permit from the State of NM after a positive certification decision for the WIPP was issued by the EPA in 1998, as the first licensed facility in the US for the deep geologic disposal of radioactive wastes. The CCA (Compliance Certification Application) for the WIPP that the DOE submitted to the EPA in 1966 was supported by an extensive performance assessment (PA) carried out by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), with so-called 1996 PA. Even though such PA methodologies could be greatly different from the way we consider for HLW disposal in Korea largely due to quite different geologic formations in which repository are likely to be located, a review on lots of works done through the WIPP PA studies could be the most important lessons that we can learn from in view of current situation in Korea where an initial phase of conceptual studies on HLW disposal has been just started. The objective of this art report is an overview of the methodology used in the recent WIPP PA to support the US DOE WIPP CCA and some relevant results completed by SNL.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1995

Spectrophotometric determination of U(VI) and Th(IV) by Flow injection method is described. Chrome Azurol S forms water soluble complexes with U(VI) and Th(IV) in the presence of cethyltrimethylammonium bromide. The maximum adsorption of U(VI) and Th(IV) complexes are at 600nm with molar absorptivity of $2.3{\times}10^5Lmol^{-1}cm^{-1}$ and 611nm with molar absorptivity of $3.8{\times}10^5Lmol^{-1}cm^{-1}$ in acetate buffer medium having pH 5.0 and 5.5. The calibration curves of U(VI) and Th(IV) are linear over the range of 0.1~0.8ppm and the correlation coefficients are ca. 0.9960 and 0.9930 respectively. The detection limits(S/N) are 20ppb for U(VI) and 15ppb for Th(IV). The relative standard deviation are ${\pm}1.8%$ for U(VI) and ${\pm}2.1%$ for Th(IV). The sample throughput was ca. $50hr^{-1}$.