• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.75-84
• /
• 2016

Objective: The aim of this study is to suggest some improvement ideas based on the validity and the reliability analyses of the current safety culture measurement method applied to the Korean nuclear power industry. Background: Wrong safety culture is known as one of the major causes of the disasters such as the space shuttle Columbia disaster or the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident. Assessment of safety culture of an organization is important to build a safer organizational environment as well as to identify the risks hidden in the organization. Method: A face validity of the current safety culture measurement method was analyzed by comparison of the key factors of safety culture in the Korean nuclear power industry with those factors reviewed in the previous studies. The current interview method was analyzed to identify the problems which degrade the consistency of evaluation. Results: Most safety culture factors reviewed in the literatures are covered in the list of the Korean nuclear power industry safety culture factors. However the unstructured questions used in the interview may result in inconsistency of safety culture evaluation among interviewers. Conclusion: This study suggests some examples which might improve the consistency of interviewers' evaluation on safety culture such as a post interview evaluation form. Application: An extended post interview evaluation form might help to increase the accuracy of the interviewing method for Korean nuclear industry safety culture evaluation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.10
• /
• pp.3695-3702
• /
• 2022

South Korea, a country that built a world-class nuclear power infrastructure, shifted to a nuclear phaseout during the previous government's reign. This shift was pursued as part of a larger task of electricity mix reform, and one of the integral motives for such reform is addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) and fine dust problems. Thus, verifying the relationships between the public's concerns about GHG/fine dust and their acceptance of nuclear power generation is essential for designing public communication strategies to revive nuclear power under the ongoing environmental regime. Our analysis using a nationwide survey sample of South Korea (N = 1009, through proportionated quota sampling method) showed that the more people are concerned about GHG and fine dust, the less they accept nuclear power. These relationships held even after controlling for the effect of a third variable-energy-related environmentalism. This finding means that despite past communication efforts positioning nuclear power as a generation source that can mitigate GHG/fine dust emissions and the widely accepted scientific evidence that supports such positioning, nuclear power in Korea is in jeopardy. Our finding provides implications for public communications and fundamental knowledge for research on the determinants of nuclear power acceptance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.309-316
• /
• 2005

The contents of a new book currently in preparation are described. The dearth of books in the field of nuclear materials has left both students in nuclear materials classes and professionals in the same field without a resource for the broad fundamentals of this important sub-discipline of nuclear engineering. The new book is devoted entirely to materials problems in the core of light-water reactors, from the pressure vessel into the fuel. Key topics deal with the $UO_2$ fuel, Zircaloy cladding, stainless steel, and of course, water. The restriction to LWR materials does not mean a short monograph; the enormous quantity of experimental and theoretical work over the past 50 years on these materials presents a challenge of culling the most important features and explaining them in the simplest quantitative fashion. Moreover, LWRs will probably be the sole instrument of the return of nuclear energy in electric power production for the next decade or so. By that time, a new book will be needed.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.203-212
• /
• 1999

The Republic of Korea is actively constructing and operating nuclear power plants and will maintain the nuclear energy program in spite of the current stagnation of nuclear industries in advanced countries. The significant role of Korea in the world economy is well recognized as Korea became a member of OECD. The Korean economy is rated as the eleventh largest in the world. Korea is a very important customer in the world nuclear market and is also regarded as a potential future supplier. However, the domestic and international environment for globalization of the Korean nuclear industry is not well established. This is mainly due to the past nuclear policy which has emphasized technological self-reliance with less attention to the international politics and trading. Under this background, this paper suggests the strategies for promoting the nuclear trade and expanding the influence in the decision making process of international nuclear community.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.226-233
• /
• 2011

Exactly 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, 11th of March 2011 the Fukushima nuclear accident occurred in Japan and was ranked at level 7 same to the Chernobyl. A Korean and Japanese joint civil survey was conducted around Fukushima on April 13-17. The radiation survey data clearly shows a large hotspot area between 20 km and 50 km radius north and west direction from the accident reactors, with the highest radiation recorded being 55.64 ${\mu}Sv/hr$ in the air, 99.89 ${\mu}Sv/hr$ in the surface air, and 36.16 ${\mu}Sv/hr$ in a car, respectively. 3.65 ${\mu}Sv/hr$ in the air and 6.89 ${\mu}Sv/hr$ in the surface air were detected at the playground of an elementary school in Fukushima City. Spring came with full cherry blossoms in Fukushima, but it was silent spring of radiation contamination. Interviews with Fukushima nuclear refugees reveal serious problems about Japanese nuclear safety systems, such as there was no practical evacuation drill within 1-10 km and no plan at all for 10-30 km areas. Several reforms items for Korean nuclear safety system can be suggested: minimization of accident damage, clear separation of regulatory and safety bureaus with a new and independent administrating agency, community participation and agreement regarding the safety system and levels, which is the major concern of 80% Korean. To tackle threats of nuclear disaster in neighboring nations like China, a new position entitled 'Ambassador for nuclear safety diplomacy' is highly necessary. The nuclear safety of Korea should no longer be the monopoly of those nuclear engineers and limited technocrats criticized as a 'nuclear mafia'.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.417-422
• /
• 2006

The present paper describes the 45 MW High Flux Reactor (HFR) which is located in Petten, The Netherlands. This paper focuses on selected technical aspects of this reactor and on nuclear fuel irradiation experiments. These fuel experiments are mainly experiments on Light Water Reactor (LWR) and Very/High Temperature Reactor (V/HTR) fuels, but also on Fast Reactor (FR) fuels, transmutation fuels and Material Test Reactor (MTR) fuels.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.717-724
• /
• 2007

A measurement-based time-domain noise simulation of radiation detector-preamplifier (front-end) noise in nuclear spectroscopy is described. The time-domain noise simulation was performed by generating "noise random numbers" using Monte Carlo's inverse method. The probability of unpredictable noise was derived from the empirical cumulative distribution function via the sampled noise, which was measured from a preamplifier output. Results of the simulated noise were investigated as functions of time, frequency, and statistical domains. Noise behavior was evaluated using the signal wave-shaping function, and was compared with the actual noise. Similarities between the response characteristics of the simulated and the actual preamplifier output noises were found. The simulated noise and the computed nuclear pulse signal were also combined to generate a simulated preamplifier output signal. Such simulated output signals could be used in nuclear spectroscopy to determine energy resolution degradation from front-end noise effect.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.2
• /
• pp.792-799
• /
• 2023

Non-reactor nuclear facilities are increasing remarkably in Korea combined with advanced technologies such as life and space engineering, and the diversification of the nuclear industry. However, the absence of a basic classification guideline related to the design of non-reactor nuclear facilities has created confusion whenever related projects are carried out. In this paper, related domestic and international technical guidelines are reviewed to present the classification criteria of non-reactor nuclear facilities in Korea. Based on these criteria, the classification of structures, systems and components (SSCs) for safety controls is presented. Using the presented classification criteria, classification of a hot cell facility, a representative non-reactor nuclear facility, was performed. As a result of the classification, the hot cell facility is classified as the hazard category 3, accordingly, the safety class was classified as non-nuclear safety, the seismic category as non-seismic (RW-IIb), and the quality class as manufacturers' standards (S).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.12
• /
• pp.4465-4471
• /
• 2023

Hands-on education and training is a key part of fixing and developing technology knowledge and is an inherent part of many engineering and scientific curricula. However, access to large complex training facilities, such as nuclear reactor, could be limited by various factors, such as unavailability of those facilities in the region, high traveling costs or harmonization of the schedules of hands-on E&T with theoretical lectures and with the operational schedule of the facility. To handle the issue, several success stories have been reached with the introduction of the Internet Reactor Labs (IRL). The Internet Reactor Labs can strongly contribute to accessibility of training at research reactors and can contribute to improvements in their utilization. The paper describes the development of the Internet Reactor Lab at the VR-1 reactor of the Czech Technical University in Prague. Contrary to single-purpose IRLs, it presents various modalities of online teaching and training in experimental reactor physics and reactor operation in general as well as outreach activities that have been developed in recent years.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.47-58
• /
• 2019

The paper presents the results of a multi-criteria comparative evaluation of 12 feasible Russian nuclear energy deployment scenarios with thermal and fast reactors in a closed nuclear fuel cycle. The comparative evaluation was performed based on 6 performance indicators and 5 different MCDA methods (Simple Scoring Model, MAVT / MAUT, AHP, TOPSIS, PROMETHEE) in accordance with the recommendations elaborated by the IAEA/INPRO section. It is shown that the use of different MCDA methods to compare the nuclear energy deployment scenarios, despite some differences in the rankings, leads to well-coordinated and similar results. Taking into account the uncertainties in the weights within a multi-attribute model, it was possible to rank the scenarios in the absence of information regarding the relative importance of performance indicators and determine the preference probability for a certain nuclear energy deployment scenario. Based on the results of the uncertainty/sensitivity analysis and additional analysis of alternatives as well as the whole set of graphical and attribute data, it was possible to identify the most promising nuclear energy deployment scenario under the assumptions made.