• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.525-533
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• 2017

A new concept termed the Innovative Nuclear Power Plant Building Arrangement (INBA) strategy is a new nuclear power plant building arrangement method which encompasses upfront consideration of more efficient decommissioning. Although existing decommissioning strategies such as immediate dismantling and differed dismantling has the advantage of either early site restoration or radioactive decommissioning waste reduction, the INBA strategy has the advantages of both strategies. In this research paper, the concept and the implementation method of the INBA strategy will be described. Two primary benefits will be further described: (1) early site restoration; and (2) radioactive waste reduction. Several other potential benefits will also be identified. For the estimation of economic benefit, the INBA strategy, with two primary benefits, will be compared with the immediate dismantling strategy. The effect of a short life cycle nuclear power plant in combination with the INBA strategy will be reviewed. Finally, some of the major impediments to the realization of this strategy will be discussed.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.6297-6304
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• 2015

Nuclear power plant decommissioning has attracted attention according to the shutdown decision of Kori 1 which is Korea's first nuclear power plant. Nuclear power plant decommissioning is the one who never experienced ever in our country. So, its process is difficult and time-consuming. In addition, it is difficult to determine the decommissioning quantity. This study proposed the plan that can be used in quantity take-off for nuclear power plant decommissioning using BIM technology being utilized in recent construction industry. As a result, we suggested the method of BIM-based quantity take-off such as the selection decommissioning method and process, setting up of BIM modeling environment, establishment of OBS & WBS, integrated BIM modeling, the definition of quantity property. The proposed plan can be utilized usefully from when permanent stopping nuclear power plant occurs intensively. Furthermore, the overseas nuclear power plant decommissioning project order also are expected through technology securement based on this plan.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.139-148
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• 2018

Assessment of NPP(Nuclear Power Plant) decommissioning cost is very important for safe decommissioning of nuclear power plants. In the United States, which has the most NPP decommissioning experience, the cost evaluation study has been conducted since the 1970s in order to decommissioning nuclear facilities. The US NRC has conducted studies on decommissioning technology, safety and cost for a variety of reactor type and nuclear installations. In the total decommissioning costs, the end of operation licenses accounted for the largest portion, followed by spent fuel management and site restoration. In case of immediate decommissioning, spent fuel management cost increased compared to delayed decommissioning, and delayed deocmmissioning increased the cost of terminating the operation license. However, in general, delayed decommissioning does not show any significant benefit as compared with immediate decommissioning. It is necessary to consider the evaluation according to the site conditions when evaluating the cost of decommissioning domestic nuclear power plants. Also, in Korea, IAEA recommendations were applied to reorganize the radioactive waste classification system. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method to appropriately use the decommissioning data of the preceding US Nuclear Power Plant in the new classification system when estimating the amount of radioactive waste generated during decommissioning. In particular, the establishment of the evaluation methodology for the waste to be disposed of will be an important factor in securing the accuracy of the decommissioning cost. In addition, it is necessary to construct information data that can be applied to facility characteristics and work characteristics in order to evaluate the cost of demolition of domestic nuclear power plants.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.1098-1108
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• 2019

Korea's first commercial nuclear power plant at Kori site was permanently shut down in 2017 and is currently in transition stage. Preparatory activities for decommissioning such as historical site assessment, characterization, and dismantling design are being actively carried out for successful D&D (Dismantling and Decontamination) at Kori site. The ultimate goal of decommissioning will be to ensure the safety of workers and residents that may arise during the decommissioning of nuclear facilities and, thereby finally returning the site to its original status in accordance with the release criteria. Upon completion of decommissioning, the resident's safety at a site released will be assessed from the evaluation of dose caused by radionuclides expected to be present or detected at the site. Although the U.S. commercial nuclear power plants with decommissioning experience use different site release criteria, most of them are 0.25 mSv/y. In Korea, both the unrestricted and restricted release criteria have been set to 0.1 mSv/y by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission. However, since the dose is difficult to measure, measurable concentration guideline levels for residual radionuclides that result in dose equivalent to the site release criteria should be derived. For this derivation, site reuse scenario, selection of potential radionuclides, and systematic methodology should be developed in planning stage of Kori site decommissioning. In this paper, for calculation of a preliminary site-specific Derived Concentration Guideline Levels (DCGLs) for the Nuclear Power Plant site, a novel approach has been developed which can fully reflect practical reuse plans of the Kori site by taking into account multiple site reuse scenarios sequentially, thereby striking a remarkable distinction with conventional approaches which considers only a single site scenario.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.50 no.7
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• pp.1088-1098
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• 2018

Kori unit #1, which is the first commercial nuclear power plant in Korea, was permanently shutdown in June 2017, and it is about to be decommissioned. Currently in Korea, researches on the decommissioning technology are actively conducted, but there are few researches on workers internal exposure to radioactive aerosol that is generated in the process of decommissioning nuclear power plants. As a result, the over-exposure of decommissioning workers is feared, and the optimal working time needs to be revised in consideration of radioactive aerosol. This study investigated the annual exposure limits of various countries, which can be used as an indicator in evaluating workers' internal exposure to radioactive aerosol during pipe cutting in the process of decommissioning nuclear power plants, and the growth and dynamics of aerosol. Also, to evaluate it, the authors compared/analyzed the cases of aerosol generated when activated pipes are cut in the process of nuclear power plants and the codes for evaluating internal exposure. The evaluation codes and analyzed data conform to ALARA, and they are believed to be used as an important indicator in deriving an optimal working time that does not excess the annual exposure limit.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.297-306
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• 2021

In this study, basic strategies for the decommissioning and site remediation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) were investigated. Six scenarios were formulated based on two of the three decommissioning strategies of nuclear power plants defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): immediate dismantling and deferred dismantling. A multicriteria decision analysis was performed to analyze the preferences of the options from the viewpoints of the timeframe to complete decommissioning, the resulting waste, the site usability, and the availability of the radioactive waste disposal route. The same six scenarios were applied to both the FDNPS and the nuclear power plants that ceased operation after a normal plant life cycle for comparison. For the FDNPS, the decommissioning project involved fuel debris retrieval, dismantling, and site remediation. The analysis results suggest that the balance between the amount of waste and the time to achieve the end state may be one of the most critical factors to consider when planning the decommissioning and site remediation of the FDNPS.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.107-122
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• 2018

Kori unit 1, the oldest commercial nuclear power plant in South Korea, was permanently shut down in June 2017. There are a lot of things to consider in decommissioning nuclear power plants, and one of them is the radiological environmental impact assessment. Performed to promote the health and safety of residents around the nuclear power plant, radiological environmental impact assessment aims to confirm that off-site radiological dose from radioactive material released from the facility does not exceed the regulatory criteria. There are three main parts of environmental impact assessment: pre-decommissioning environmental monitoring, environmental monitoring during decommissioning, and impact on nearby residents. At present, although the Korea Nuclear Safety Act stipulates that radiological environmental impact assessment resulting from decommissioning should be carried out, the details have not been specified. Therefore, this paper compares and analyzes guidelines for evaluation of radiological environmental impacts of nuclear power plants overseas, and presents a draft on the assessment of radiological dose resulting from decommissioning according to the Korean situation.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.213-227
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• 2013

It is essential to prepare the decommissioning plan for a nuclear power plant (NPP) for the safe decommissioning of the NPP, minimization of the generation of decommissioning wastes, and protection of human beings and environment. Although Kori unit 1 and Wolsong unit 1 will be destined to their decommissioning in Korea in the near future. there is no provisons about preparing the decommissioning plan. In this paper, therefore, the draft guidelines of the decommissioning plan for a NPP were developed by considering the domestic situation, based on the comparative analyses of the regulatory guidelines of the decommissioning plan in U.S., U.K. and France. The draft guidelines are expected to play an important role to modify the domestic laws and regulations on the decommissioning of the NPP, and to give a license holder in charge of decommissioning the detailed instructions for preparing it in advance.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.87-111
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• 2021

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) produce radioactive waste and decommissioning this waste entails additional cost; determining these costs for various types and specifications of radioactive waste can be challenging. The purpose of this study is to identify major determinants of the decommissioning cost and their impact on NPPs. To this end, data from defunct NPPs were gathered and 2SLS (Two Stage Least Squares) regression models were developed to investigate the major contributors depending on the reactor types, viz. PWR (Pressurized Water Reactors) and BWR (Boiling Water Reactors). Additionally, cost estimations and the Monte Carlo simulation were performed as part of performance validation. Our study established that the decommissioning costs are primarily influenced by the level of radioactivity in the decommissioned waste, which can be realized from operational factors like operation period, overall efficiency, and plant capacity, as well as from duration of decommissioning and labour cost. While our study provides an improved statistical approach to recognize these factors, we acknowledge that our models have limitations in forecasting accurately which we envisage to bolster in future studies by identifying more substantive factors.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.305-320
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• 2016

The metal waste generated during nuclear power plant decommissioning constitutes a large proportion of the total radioactive waste. This study investigates the current status of domestic and international regulatory requirements for clearance and the clearance experience of domestic institutions. The RESRAD-RECYCLE code was used for analyzing the clearance of the metal wastes generated during actual nuclear power plant decommissioning, and assessment of the exposure dose of twenty-six scenarios was carried out. The evaluation results will be useful in preliminary analysis of clearance and recycling during nuclear power plant decommissioning. As a next step, the effects of reducing disposal costs by clearance can be studied.