• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.3260-3267
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• 2023

Zr-Nb alloy have been widely used as fuel rods in nuclear power plants. However, from the Fukushima nuclear accident, the weakness of the rod was revealed under harsh conditions, and research on the safety of these types of rods was conducted after the disaster. The method of depositing chromium onto the existing Zr-Nb alloy fuel rods is being considered as a means by which to compensate for the weakness of Zr-Nb alloy rods because chromium is strong against oxidation at high temperatures and has high strength. In order to secure these advantages, it is important to maintain the Cr thickness of the rods and properly inspect the rods before and during their use in power generation. Eddy current testing is a typical means of evaluating the thickness of thin metals and detecting surface defects. Depending on the size and shape of the inspected object, various eddy current sensors can be applied. In particular, because pancake sensors can be manufactured in very small sizes, they can be used for inspections even in narrow spaces, such as a nuclear fuel assembly. In this study, an eddy current technique was developed to confirm the feasibility of Cr coating thickness evaluations. After determining the design parameters of the pancake sensor by means of a FEM simulation, a FPCB pancake sensor was manufactured and the optimal frequency was selected by measuring minute changes in the Cr-coating thickness using the developed sensor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.1091-1097
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• 2019

After the Fukushima accident in 2011, there has been increased public concern about radioactive contamination of water resources through fallout in neighboring countries. However, there is still no available initial response system that can promptly detect radionuclides. The purpose of this research is to develop the most efficient gamma spectrometer to monitor radionuclides in an aquatic environment. We chose a thallium-doped sodium iodide (NaI(Tl)) scintillator readout with a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) due to its compactness and low operating voltage. Three types of a scintillation detector were tested. One was composed of a scintillator and a photomultiplier tube (PMT) as a reference; another system consisted of a scintillator and an array of SiPMs with a light guide; and the other was a scintillator directly coupled with an array of SiPMs. Among the SiPM-based detectors, the direct coupling system showed the best energy resolution at all energy peaks. It achieved 9.76% energy resolution for a 662 keV gamma ray. Through additional experiments and a simulation, we proved that the light guide degraded energy resolution with increasing statistical uncertainty. The results indicated that the SiPM-based scintillation detector with no light guide is the most efficient design for monitoring radionuclides in an aquatic environment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.129-134
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• 2016

Standard design of APR+(advanced power reactor plus) was certified at 2014 by Korea regulatory body. Based on the experience gained from OPR1000 and APR1400, the APR1400 was being developed as a 1,500MWe class reactor using Korean technologies for design code, reactor coolant pump, and man-machine interface system. APR+ has been basically designed to have the seismic design basis of safe shutdown earthquake (SSE) 0.3g, a 4-train safety concept based on N+2 design philosophy, and a passive auxiliary feedwater system (PAFS). Also, safety issues on the Fukushima-type accidents have been extensively reviewed and applied to enhance APR+ safety. APR+ provides higher reliability and safety against tsunami and earthquake. The purpose of this paper is to implement probabilistic safety assessment considering these design features and to analyze sensitivity of core damage frequency for large loss of coolant accident of APR+.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.123-128
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• 2020

Radiation Following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, public interest and anxiety about radiation safety increased, and vague anxiety about commonly exposed living radiation was generated. The Atomic Energy Safety Commission has been conducting a survey of processed products that advertise "negative ions" and "far-infrared" emissions under the Living Radiation Safety Management Act. In this study, in-depth analysis was performed from a statistical point of view using the measurement data presented in the Nuclear Safety Committee's actual survey analysis report as secondary data. As a result, there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.005) between latex and civil affairs products. There were also statistically significant differences (p<0.05) in the results of testing whether there were significant differences in the annual exposure dose between groups after categorizing 71 civil products, including radon beds, into bed, bedding, and living and other categories. The correlation analysis results also confirm that, as is commonly known, the annual doses received from processed products are associated with radon derived from U-238 and Th-232.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.127-130
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• 2015

Since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, Prussian blue (PB) has attracted increasing attention as a material for use in decontaminating the environment. We have focused the fundamental mechanism of specific $Cs^+$ adsorption into PB in order to develop high-performance PB-based $Cs^+$ adsorbents. The ability of PB to adsorb Cs varies considerably according to its origin such as what synthesis method was used, and under what conditions the PB was prepared. It has been commonly accepted that the exclusive abilities of PB to adsorb hydrated $Cs^+$ ions are caused by regular lattice spaces surrounded by cyanido-bridged metals. $Cs^+$ ions are trapped by simple physical adsorption in the regular lattice spaces of PB. $Cs^+$ ions are exclusively trapped by chemical adsorption via the hydrophilic lattice defect sites with proton-exchange from the coordination water. Prussian blue are believed to hold great promise for the clean-up of $^{137}Cs$ contaminated water around nuclear facilities and/or after nuclear accidents.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.14-23
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• 2021

Background: For radiological protection and control, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) provides the nominal risk coefficients related to radiation exposure, which can be extrapolated using the excess relative risk and excess absolute risk obtained from the Life Span Study of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor (DDREF). Materials and Methods: Since it is impossible to directly estimate the radiation risk at doses less than approximately 100 mSv only from epidemiological knowledge and data, support from radiation biology is absolutely imperative, and thus, several national and international bodies have advocated the importance of bridging knowledge between biology and epidemiology. Because of the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in 2011, the exposure of the public to radiation has become a major concern and it was considered that the estimation of radiation risk should be more realistic to cope with the prevailing radiation exposure situation. Results and Discussion: To discuss the issues from wide aspects related to radiological protection, and to realize bridging knowledge between biology and epidemiology, we have established a research group to develop low-dose and low-dose-rate radiation risk estimation methodology, with the permission of the Japan Health Physics Society. Conclusion: The aim of the research group was to clarify the current situation and issues related to the risk estimation of low-dose and low-dose-rate radiation exposure from the viewpoints of different research fields, such as epidemiology, biology, modeling, and dosimetry, to identify a future strategy and roadmap to elucidate a more realistic estimation of risk against low-dose and low-dose-rate radiation exposure.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2017

Background: One of the most urgent issues following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) was the remediation of the land, in particular, for residential area contaminated by the radioactive materials discharged. In this study, the effect of decontamination on reduction of ambient dose equivalent outdoors and indoors was evaluated. The latter is essential for residents as most individuals spend a large portion of their time indoors. Materials and Methods: From December 2012 to November 2014, thirty-seven Japanese single-family detached wooden houses were investigated before and after decontamination in evacuation zones. Outdoor and indoor dose measurements (n = 84 and 114, respectively) were collected based on in situ measurements using the NaI (Tl) scintillation surveymeter. Results and Discussion: The outdoor ambient dose equivalents [$H^*(10)_{out}$] ranged from 0.61 to $3.71{\mu}Sv\;h^{-1}$ and from 0.23 to $1.32{\mu}Sv\;h^{-1}$ before and after decontamination, respectively. The indoor ambient dose equivalents [$H^*(10)_{in}$] ranged from 0.29 to $2.53{\mu}Sv\;h^{-1}$ and from 0.16 to $1.22{\mu}Sv\;h^{-1}$ before and after decontamination, respectively. The values of reduction efficiency (RE), defined as the ratio by which the radiation dose has been reduced via decontamination, were evaluated as $0.47{\pm}0.13$, $0.51{\pm}0.13$, and $0.58{\pm}0.08$ ($average{\pm}{\sigma}$) when $H^*(10)_{out}$ < $1.0{\mu}Sv\;h^{-1}$, $1.0{\mu}Sv\;h^{-1}$ < $H^*(10)_{out}$ < $2.0{\mu}Sv\;h^{-1}$, and $2.0{\mu}Sv\;h^{-1}$ < $H^*(10)_{out}$, respectively, indicating the values of RE increased as $H^*(10)_{out}$ increased. It was found that the values of RE were $0.53{\pm}0.12$ outdoors and $0.41{\pm}0.09$ indoors, respectively, indicating RE was larger outdoors than indoors. Conclusion: Indoor dose is essential as most individuals spend a large portion of their time indoors. The difference between outdoors and indoors should be considered carefully in order to estimate residents' exposure dose before their returning home.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.201-209
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• 2016

The object of this study was to evaluate the separation distance from a temporary storage facility satisfying the dose criteria. The calculation of ambient dose rates took into account cover soil thickness, facility size, and facility type by using MCNPX code. Shielding effects of cover soil were 68.9%, 96.9% and 99.7% at 10 cm, 30 cm and 50 cm respectively. The on-ground type of storage facility had the highest ambient dose rate, followed by the semi-ground type and the underground type. The ambient dose rate did not vary with facility size (except $5{\times}5{\times}2m\;size$) due to the self-shielding of decontamination waste in temporary storage. The separation distances without cover soil for a $50{\times}50{\times}2m\;size$ facility were evaluated as 14 m (minimum radioactivity concentration), 33 m (most probably radioactivity concentration), and 57 m (maximum radioactivity concentration) for on-ground storage type, 9 m, 24 m, and 45 m for semi-underground storage type, and 6 m, 16 m, and 31 m for underground storage type.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2014.05a
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• pp.707-709
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• 2014

The radiation sources leaked from large-scale radiation leak accident like the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident or nuclear explosions can cause to the very large damage for us. So that the damage can be minimized, we have being developed a detector that can providing information about the location of the source to remove dangerous substances quickly than the conventional single detector. In this paper, we designed and implemented the radiation shield and the collimator for the development of the stereo radiation detector to detect contamination things using MCNP Simulation. And we analysed the test results of the radiation shield and collimator using the radiation source. The results of this paper will be used as the basis for improving the efficiency of the stereo radiation detector being studied currently.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.543-572
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• 2012

This paper compared historical energy use from 2000 between Japan and Korea and reviewed literature of mid-and long-term low carbon energy scenarios and plans in both countries released since 2000. In terms of energy use pattern, there are similarities between Korea and Japan; high dependence on energy imports, high proportion of manufacturing industry among OECD countries, closed electricity system disconnected with foreign countries, and high proportion of nuclear power generation with low proportion of renewable electricity despite of high potential of renewable energy. Differences are as follows; decreasing trend in Japan and increasing trend in Korea in terms of energy demand and supply, difficulty of exchanging electricity between regions in Japan unlike Korea, and prospect of nuclear power, that is, curtailing in Japan while expanding in Korea according to governmental plan. Energy Basic Plan in both countries established before nuclear accident in Fukushima required expanding about two times of nuclear energy by 2030, while civil society's energy scenarios suggested reducing energy demand, phasing-out nuclear power, and expanding renewable energy. This paper will serve as a base for future studies about long-term energy scenarios and plan in Japan and Korea.