• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.387-419
• /
• 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)
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.23-32
• /
• 2022

Pyroprocessing is a promising technology for managing spent nuclear fuel. The nuclear material accounting of feed material is a challenging issue in safeguarding pyroprocessing facilities. The input material in pyroprocessing is in a solid-state, unlike the solution state in an input accountability tank used in conventional wet-type reprocessing. To reduce the uncertainty of the input material accounting, a double-stage homogenization process is proposed in considering the process throughput, remote controllability, and remote maintenance of an engineering-scale pyroprocessing facility. This study tests two types of mixing equipment in the proposed double-stage homogenization process using surrogate materials. The expected heterogeneity and accounting uncertainty of Pu are calculated based on the surrogate test results. The heterogeneity of Pu was 0.584% obtained from Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) spent fuel of 59 WGd/tU when the relative standard deviation of the mass ratio, tested from the surrogate powder, is 1%. The uncertainty of the Pu accounting can be lower than 1% when the uncertainty of the spent fuel mass charged into the first mixers is 2%, and the uncertainty of the first sampling mass is 5%.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.43-53
• /
• 2023

Sulfide concentrations critically affect worker safety and the integrities of underground facilities, such as deep geological repositories for spent nuclear fuel. Sulfide is highly sensitive to oxygen, which can oxidize sulfide to sulfate. This can hinder precise measurement of the sulfide concentration. Hence, a literature review was conducted, which revealed that two methods are commonly used: the methylene blue and sulfide ion-selective electrode (ISE) methods. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was used for comparison with the two methods. The sulfide ISE method was found to be superior as it yielded results with a higher degree of accuracy and involved fewer procedures for quantification of the sulfide concentration in solution. ICP-OES results can be distorted significantly when sulfide is present in solution owing to the formation of H₂S gas in the ICP-OES nebulizer. Therefore, the ICP-OES must be used with caution when quantifying underground water to prevent any distortion in the measured results. The results also suggest important measures to avoid problems when using ICP-OES for site selection. Furthermore, the sulfide ISE method is useful in determining sulfide concentrations in the field to predict the lifetime of disposal canisters of spent nuclear fuel in deep geological repositories and other industries.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.22 no.11
• /
• pp.5-11
• /
• 2006

The purpose of this study was to examine the proper mixing ratio of ordinary portland cement and Bottom Ash to recycle the Bottom Ash, which is an industrial waste. After the evaluation, the compressive strength and durability were assessed using the mixture of completely weathered soil (Hwangto), weathered granite soil, and Bentonite. Then environmental friendliness of this mixed material was examined through heavy metal leaching method. It was found out that proper mixing ratio is 6:4, and that the 6% mixture quantity of completely weathered soil (Hwangto), weathered granite soil, and Bentonite is the most effective for compressive strength and durability It was also found out through heavy metal leaching method that the Bottom Ash could be below the standard of the Clean Water Law.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
• /
• v.65 no.4
• /
• pp.11-23
• /
• 2023

In Korea, open burning of agricultural residues is prevalent due to inadequate collection systems, which have caused environmental impacts such as GHGs and particulates. This illegal treatment of agricultural residues also results in economic loss, considering that agricultural residues can be utilized as resources such as pellets and energy sources. To understand the effect of avoiding open burning, this study evaluated the economic, environmental, and social effects of two alternative management options for agricultural residues: incineration and pelletizing. The study estimates the potential amount and dry weight by region for 18 items, taking various factors into account. Regarding the economic aspect, pelletizing facilities in all regions in Korea create economic benefits. This study shows that most regions have an environmental advantage by pelletizing residues. However, incineration creates more environmental benefits than pelletizing in metropolitan cities with relatively low density of residues. It is expected that the environmental, economic, and social findings of this study can be used to inform policies for bioenergy as the need for agricultural residue increases.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.315-327
• /
• 2023

In South Korea, the exporters of items related to nuclear power generation are diversified. Consequently, there is a risk of illegitimate export by companies failing to recognize the export control system because the awareness about this system for the strategic items among the subcontractors of nuclear power facilities is limited. To prevent illegitimate export of the strategic items, it is necessary to conduct outreach activities regarding the export control system for the related companies. Additionally, the exporters and export license examiners should consider whether an export target is on the Denial List, who may divert the strategic items to weapons of mass destruction. Therefore, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control developed two systems for controlling illegitimate export of the Trigger List items. The first system, Nuclear Industry Information Collection and Analysis System, can gather information about the key nuclear industries in Korea and analyze the dealing of strategic items. The second system, Denied Persons Information Gathering System, can regularly gather information about the denied persons and provide the updated data to the exporters and regulatory examiners. These two systems can be used for outreach activities and export license examination to prevent illegitimate export of the strategic items.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.531-541
• /
• 2023

The Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) operates an on-site spent fuel dry storage facility using concrete silo and vertical module systems. This facility must be safely maintained until the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is transferred to an external interim or final disposal facility, aligning with national policies on spent nuclear fuel management. The concrete silo system, operational since 1992, requires an aging management review for its long-term operation and potential license renewal. This involves comparing aging management programs of different dry storage systems against the U.S. NRC's guidelines for license renewal of spent nuclear fuel dry storage facilities and the U.S. DOE's program for long-term storage. Based on this comparison, a specific aging management program for the silo system was developed. Furthermore, the facility's current practices-periodic checks of surface dose rate, contamination, weld integrity, leakage, surface and groundwater, cumulative dose, and concrete structure-were evaluated for their suitability in managing the silo system's aging. Based on this review, several improvements were proposed.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.201-210
• /
• 2024

Because most spent nuclear fuel storage casks have been designed for low burnup fuel, a safety-significant high burnup dry storage cask must be developed for nuclear facilities in Korea to store the increasing high burnup and damaged fuels. More than 20% of fuels generated by PWRs comprise high burnup fuels. This study conducted a structural safety evaluation of the preliminary designs for a high burnup storage cask with 21 spent nuclear fuels and evaluated feasible loading conditions under normal, off-normal, and accident conditions. Two types of metal and concrete storage casks were used in the evaluation. Structural integrity was assessed by comparing load combinations and stress intensity limits under each condition. Evaluation results showed that the storage cask had secured structural integrity as it satisfied the stress intensity limit under normal, off-normal, and accident conditions. These results can be used as baseline data for the detailed design of high burnup storage casks.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.219-226
• /
• 2024

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has produced weapon-grade plutonium in a graphite-moderated experimental reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear facilities. The amount of plutonium produced can be estimated using the Graphite Isotope Ratio Method (GIRM), even without considering specific operational histories. However, the result depends to some degree on the operational cycle length. Moreover, an optimal cycle length can maximize the number of nuclear weapons made from the plutonium produced. For conservatism, it should be assumed that the target reactor was operated with an optimal cycle length. This study investigated the optimal cycle length using which the Calder Hall MAGNOX reactor can achieve the maximum annual production of nuclear weapons. The results show that lower enrichment fuel produced a greater number of critical plutonium spheres with a shorter optimal cycle length. Specifically, depleted uranium (0.69wt%) produced 5.561 critical plutonium spheres annually with optimal cycle lengths of 251 effective full power days. This research is crucial for understanding DPRK's potential for nuclear weapon production and highlights the importance of reactor operational strategy in maximizing the production of weapons-grade plutonium in MAGNOX reactors.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.139-144
• /
• 2024

Concrete structures must maintain their shielding abilities and structural integrity over extended operational periods. Despite the widespread use of dry storage systems for spent nuclear fuel, research on the properties of deteriorated concrete and their impact on structural performance remains limited. To address this significant research gap, static and dynamic material testing was conducted on concrete specimens carefully extracted from the outer wall of the High-flux Advanced Neutron Application ReactOr (HANARO), constructed approximately 30 years ago. Despite its age, the results reveal that the concrete maintains its structural integrity impressively well, with static compression tests indicating an average compressive strength exceeding the original design standards. Further dynamic property testing using advanced high-speed material test equipment supported these findings, showing the consistency of dynamic increase factors with those reported in previous studies. These results highlight the importance of monitoring and assessing concrete structures in nuclear facilities for long-term safety and reliability.