• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.385-391
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• 2006

The estimated decommissioning cost of nuclear research reactor is calculated by applying a unit cost factor-based engineering cost calculation method on which classification of decommissioning works fitted with the features and specifications of decommissioning objects and establishment of composition factors are based. Decommissioning cost of nuclear research reactor is composed of labor cost, equipment and materials cost. Labor cost of decommissioning costs in decommissioning works are calculated on the basis of working time consumed in decommissioning objects. In this paper, the unit cost factors and work difficulty factors which are needed to calculate the labor cost in estimating decommissioning cost of nuclear research reactor are derived and figured out.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.65-98
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• 2022

The nuclear legacy that remains in the United Kingdom (UK) is complex and diverse. Consisting of legacy ponds and silos, redundant reprocessing plants, research facilities, and non-standard or one-off reactor designs, the clean-up of this legacy is under the stewardship of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Through a mix of prompt and delayed decommissioning strategies, the NDA has made great strides in dealing with the UK's nuclear legacy. Fuel debris and sludge removal from the legacy ponds and silos situated at Sellafield, as part of a prompt decommissioning strategy for the site, has enabled intolerable risks to be brought under control. Reactor defueling and waste retrievals across the Magnox fleet is enabling their transition to a period of care and maintenance; accelerated through the adopted 'Lead and Learn' approach. Bespoke decommissioning methods implemented by the NDA have also enabled the relevant site licence companies to tackle non-standard reactor designs and one-off wastes. Such approaches have potential to influence and shape nuclear decommissioning decision making activities globally, including in Korea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Operations and Management Science Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.354-357
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• 2003

In decommissioning activities of nuclear facilities, the analyses and evaluations of data(man power, radiation exposure, waste outputs, equipments, etc ) is very important to accomplish effective decommissioning and dismantling. To handle the data from decommissioning activities of research reactor, we developed its database system. By using database system, we come to filter and analyze the date of decommissioning activities and we can evaluate the extraordinary decommissioning features of research reactor. It is likely to lay out and estimate the optimal plan of decommissioning. We expect that the database system of effective decommissioning activities build up the foundation of commercial reactor decommissioning.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.1892-1900
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• 2023

A protective oxide layer forms on the material surfaces of a Nuclear Power Plant during operation due to high temperature. These oxides can host radionuclides, the activated corrosion products of fission products, resulting in decommissioning workers' exposure. These deposited oxides are iron oxides such as Fe₃O₄, Fe₂O₃ and mixed ferrites such as nickel ferrites, chromium ferrites, and cobalt ferrites. Developing a new chemical decontamination technology for domestic CANDU-type reactors is challenging due to variations in oxide compositions from different structural materials in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) system. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has already developed a chemical decontamination process for PWRs called 'HyBRID' (Hydrazine-Based Reductive metal Ion Decontamination) that does not use organic acids or organic chelating agents at all. As the first step to developing a new chemical decontamination technology for the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) system, we investigated magnetite dissolution behaviors in various HyBRID inorganic acidic solutions to assess their applicability to the PHWR reactor system, which forms a thicker oxide film.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.387-419
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• 2021

The challenges facing companies and institutions surrounding civil nuclear decommissioning are diverse and many, none more so than those faced in the United Kingdom. The UK's Generation I nuclear power plants and early research facilities have left a 'Nuclear Legacy' which is in urgent need of management and clean-up. Sellafield is quite possibly the most ill-famed nuclear site in the UK. This complex and challenging site houses much of what is left from the early days of nuclear research in the UK, including early nuclear reactors (Windscale Piles, Calder Hall, and the Windscale Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor) and the UK's early nuclear weapons programme. Such a legacy now requires careful management and planning to safely deal with it. This task falls on the shoulders of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Through a mix of prompt and delayed decommissioning strategies, key developments in R&D, and the implementation of site licenced companies to enact decommissioning activities, the NDA aims to safety, and in a timely manner, deal with the UK's nuclear legacy. Such approaches have the potential to influence and shape other such approaches to nuclear decommissioning activities globally, including in Korea.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2024

In 2017, a decision was made to permanently shut down Kori Unit 1, and preparations began to be made for its decontamination and decommissioning. The dismantling of the biological shields concrete, reactor vessel (RV), and reactor vessel internals (RVI) is crucial to the nuclear decommissioning process. These components were radiologically activated by the neutron activation reaction occurring in the reactor during its operational period. Because of the radioactivity of the RV and RVI of Kori Unit 1, remotely controlled systems were developed for cutting within the cavity to reduce radiation exposure. Specialized equipment was developed for underwater cutting operations. This paper focuses on modeling related to RVI operations using the MAVRIC code and the dose calculation for a diver entering the cavity. The upper and lower parts of the RVI are classified as low-level radioactive waste, while the sides that came into contact with the fuel are classified as intermediate-level radioactive waste. Therefore, the modeling presented in this paper only considers the RVI sides because the upper and lower parts have a minimal impact on the radiation exposure. These research findings are anticipated to contribute to enhancing the efficiency and safety of nuclear reactor decommissioning operations.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.9
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• pp.3242-3249
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• 2022

As Kori unit 1 is undergoing the decommissioning process, estimating the disposal amount of waste from the decommissioned nuclear reactor has become one of the challenging issues. Since the waste disposal amount estimation depends on the packing of the waste, it is highly desirable to optimize the waste packing plan. In this study, we developed an efficient scheme for packing waste component segments. The scheme consists of 1) preparing three-dimensional models of segments, 2) orienting each segment in such a way to minimize the bounding box volume, and 3) applying hybrid genetic algorithm to pack the segments in the disposal containers. When the packing solution converges in the algorithm, it comes up with the number of containers used and the placement of segments in each container. The scheme was applied to Kori-1 reactor pressure vessel. The required number of containers calculated by the developed scheme was 24 compared to 42 that was the estimation of the prior packing plan, resulting in disposal volume savings by more than 40%. The developed method is flexible for applications to various packing problems with waste segments from different cutting options and different sizes of containers.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.1959-1965
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• 2023

The objective of this study was the establishment of clearance method that can ensure radiological safety and reasonably minimize radioactive waste when demolishing contaminated buildings at KRR-1&2. By reviewing Korean and international laws related to decommissioning, the method for clearance of contaminated buildings presented in this study is to first decontaminate the building and then conduct a radiological safety assessment, such as measuring residual radioactivity, to determine whether the radiation dose criteria for clearance are satisfied. The measurement results meet the radiation dose criteria, the contaminated buildings are regarded as clearance and can be converted into the general buildings. The demolition of the cleared buildings is carried out using conventional demolition methods. The waste generated during the demolition is classified as general construction waste and is disposed of according to relevant laws. The proposed method significantly optimized the number of samples analyzed and reduced the time and cost associated with the decommissioning. The established method will be applied to the ongoing decommissioning of contaminated buildings at KRR-1&2, and its application will be verified by regulatory bodies. The study suggests that this method could be used for the decommissioning of contaminated buildings at other Korean nuclear facilities in the future.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.583-592
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• 2011

The radiological characteristics for waste classification were assessed for neutron-activated decommissioning wastes from a CANDU reactor. The MCNP/ORIGEN2 code system was used for the source term analysis. The neutron flux and activation cross-section library for each structural component generated by MCNP simulation were used in the radionuclide buildup calculation in ORIGEN2. The specific activities of the relevant radionuclides in the activated metal waste were compared with the specified limits of the specific activities listed in the Korean standard and 10 CFR 61. The time-average full-core model of Wolsong Unit 1 was used as the neutron source for activation of in-core and ex-core structural components. The approximated levels of the neutron flux and cross-section, irradiated fuel composition, and a geometry simplification revealing good reliability in a previous study were used in the source term calculation as well. The results revealed the radioactivity, decay heat, hazard index, mass, and solid volume for the activated decommissioning waste to be $1.04{\times}10^{16}$ Bq, $2.09{\times}10^3$ W, $5.31{\times}10^{14}\;m^3$-water, $4.69{\times}10^5$ kg, and $7.38{\times}10^1\;m^3$, respectively. According to both Korean and US standards, the activated waste of the pressure tubes, calandria tubes, reactivity devices, and reactivity device supporters was greater than Class C, which should be disposed of in a deep geological disposal repository, whereas the side structural components were classified as low- and intermediate-level waste, which can be disposed of in a land disposal repository. Finally, this study confirmed that, regardless of the cooling time of the waste, 15% of the decommissioning waste cannot be disposed of in a land disposal repository. It is expected that the source terms and waste classification evaluated through this study can be widely used to establish a decommissioning/disposal strategy and fuel cycle analysis for CANDU reactors.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.123-134
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• 2016

Decommissioning of nuclear power plants has become a big issue in South Korea as some of the nuclear power plants in operation including Kori unit 1 and Wolsung unit 1 are getting old. Recently, Wolsung unit 1 received permission to continue operation while Kori unit 1 will shut down permanently in June 2017. With the consideration of segmentation method and disposal containers, this paper evaluated final disposal amount of radioactive waste generated from decommissioning of the reactor pressure vessel in Kori unit 1 which will be decommissioned as the first in South Korea. The evaluation results indicated that the final disposal amount from the top and bottom heads of the reactor pressure vessel with hemisphere shape decreased as they were cut in smaller more effectively than the cylindrical part of the reactor pressure vessel. It was also investigated that 200 L and 320 L radioactive waste disposal containers used in Kyung-Ju disposal facility had low payload efficiency because of loading weight limitation.