This laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of oyster shell by-product (OSB) on the characteristics of Hanwoo cow manure and emitted gases. For the treated groups, 0.5% and 1% OSB were applied to 200 g of Hanwoo cow manure in a container box with three replications each per group with a group without OSB (0%) as a control group. All samples were stored at room temperature to analyze pH, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), volatile fatty acid (VFA), and gas emissions (NH3 and H2S) from Hanwoo manure on 0, 2, 4, and 8 days. No group exhibited a significant (p>0.05) effect on VBN, acetate, and propionate values during the 8 days. On day 0, pH increased by 1% OSB application, but no effects on the other days. Iso-butyrate concentration increased (p<0.05) on day 0 by OSB application, but deceased (p<0.05) on day 8. The NH3 gas emission on day 2 decreased (p<0.05) in all treatments applied OSB. However, either NH3 or H2S gases in all treatments were below 0.25 ppm on days 4 and 8, which were no differences (p>0.05) among treatments. Thus, this lab study indicated that the inclusion of OSB application in Hanwoo cow manure had a beneficial effect on NH3 gas emission, but no longer than for 2 days.

To address the need for a suitable thermoplastic resin-based sizing agent for accommodating the increasing demands of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, in this work, alcohol-soluble polyamide 6 (PA6) and silane were chemically combined in a certain ratio to improve the mechanical interface properties of the carbon fiber/PA6 composite, and the enhancement in the mechanical interface strength of the final composite according to the treatment time was confirmed. Carbon fiber surface properties were analyzed through ultrahigh-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The tensile strength of carbon fibers before and after hybrid sizing treatment and the mechanical interfacial shear strength of the final composite were analyzed using tensile and universal testing machines, respectively. After the hybrid sizing treatment, the introduction of the sizing agent to the carbon fiber surface was confirmed through FE-SEM, and a simultaneous increase in the surface roughness was observed. Moreover, the interfacial adhesion was confirmed to increase significantly, as compared to that of the desized carbon fiber. Therefore, this modified sizing agent treatment serves as an effective method for improving the mechanical interfacial adhesion between the carbon fiber and the PA6 matrix.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is very sluggish compared to the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Considering this difference is essential when designing and developing a cost-effective and facile synthesis method for a catalyst that can effectively perform OER activity. The material should possess a high surface area and more active sites. Considering these points, in this work we successfully synthesized sheets of cobalt phosphate hydrate (CP) and sulphurated cobalt phosphate hydrate (CPS) material, using simple successive ionic layered adsorption and reaction (SILAR) methods followed by sulfurization. The CP and CPS electrodes exhibited overpotentials of 279 mV with a Tafel slope of 212 mV dec1 and 381 mV with a Tafel slope of 212 mV dec1, respectively. The superior performance after sulfurization is attributed to the intrinsic activity of the deposited well-aligned nanosheet structures, which provided a substantial number of electrochemically active surface sites, speeded electron transfer, and at the same time improved the diffusion of the electrolyte.

Cereal grains are the dietary staple in many countries, including the Republic of Korea. These grains are usually consumed cooked. Korean grown raw and cooked brown non-glutinous rice (BNR), white non-glutinous rice (WNR), oats, and barley were analyzed to assess the effects of cooking on dietary fiber and free sugar content. The largest decrease in total dietary fiber (TDF) after cooking was observed in barley (11.62±1.26 to 2.96± 0.90 g/100 g), and the smallest decrease was observed in oats (8.1±0.34 to 8.1±0.32 g/100 g). Soluble dietary fiber decreased in oats (3.35±0.94 to 1.25±0.03 g/100 g) while insoluble dietary fiber increased (4.76±0.78 to 6.90±0.30 g/100 g) after cooking. TDF content was not changed. Of the six free sugars routinely assessed, only sucrose was detected in BNR and WNR. Sucrose decreased by about 0.6 g/100 g in BNR, and was not detected in WNR, after cooking. Fructose, sucrose, and raffinose were detected in oats (0.08, 0.83, and 0.19 g/100 g) and barley (0.09, 0.58, and 0.22 g/100 g) Maltose was also detected in barley (0.09 g/100 g). Total sugar content decreased in every cereal grain sample after cooking. This research reveals that dietary fiber and free sugar content can be reduced by cooking cereal grains.

Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is one of the most frequently consumed leafy vegetables globally, as it contains numerous nutrients; essential amino acids, phenolics, vitamins, and minerals, and is particularly rich in glucosinolates. However, the differences in the biosynthesis of glucosinolates and related gene expression among kale cultivars has been poorly reported. In this study, we investigated glucosinolates profile and content in three different kale cultivars, including green (‘Man-Choo’ and ‘Mat-Jjang’) and red kale (‘Red-Curled’) cultivars grown in a vertical farm, using transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses. The growth and development of the green kale cultivars were higher than those of the red kale cultivar at 6 weeks after cultivation. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed five glucosinolates in the ‘Man-Choo’ cultivar, and four glucosinolates in the ‘Mat-Jjang’ and ‘Red-Curled’ cultivars. Glucobrassicin was the most predominant glucosinolate followed by gluconastrutiin in all the cultivars. In contrast, other glucosinolates were highly dependent to the genotypes. The highest total glucosinolates was found in the ‘Red-Curled’ cultivar, which followed by ‘Man-Choo’ and ‘Mat-Jjang’. Based on transcriptome analysis, eight genes were involved in glucosinolate biosynthesis. The overall results suggest that the glucosinolate content and accumulation patterns differ according to the kale cultivar and differential expression of glucosinolate biosynthetic genes.

Antioxidants are food additives that extend the shelf life of food products by preventing lipid rancidity caused by active oxygen. They can either be naturally-derived or manufactured synthetically via chemical synthesis. In this study, method validation of five synthetic antioxidants, namely butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene, tertiary butylhydroquinone, propyl gallate, and disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, was performed using a high performance liquid chromatography–ultraviolet visible detector, and the method applicability was evaluated by analyzing foods containing antioxidants. The coefficient of determination (R2) average was 0.9997, while the limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.02–0.53 and 0.07–1.61 mg/kg, respectively. The intra and inter-day accuracies and precisions were 83.2±0.7%–98.7±2.1% and 0.1%–5.7% RSD, respectively. Inter-laboratory validation for accuracy and precision was conducted using the Food Analysis Performance Assessment Scheme quality control material. The results satisfied the guidelines presented by the AOAC International. In addition, the expanded uncertainty was less than 16%, as recommended by CODEX. Consequently, to enhance public health safety, the results of this study can be used as basis data for evaluating the intake of synthetic antioxidants and assessing their risks in Korea.

Viscosity is a fundamental physical property that is important in any system in which fluid movement occurs. In addition, most of the elements exist as ions in molten state in high-temperature molten salt, and electrical conductivity in such molten state is closely related to viscosity as a transport property. Molten salt reactor (MSR) and pyroprocess are representative processes dealing with high-temperature molten salts, actinide elements, and other radioactive materials. In MSR and pyroprocesses, the viscosity data must be provided as one of the fundamental physical property data required for safe process operations and countermeasures to severe accidents. In order to measure the viscosity of highly corrosive molten salt at high temperatures, we have built a in-house developed molten salt viscosity measurement system based on the Brookfield rotationary viscometer. We also developed a special correction technique to improve the accuracy of the viscosity measurement. In this study, the viscosity was measured at 500°C for NaCl-MgCl2 molten salt, which is selected as the base salt material of MSR system under development in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), using our viscosity measurement system installed in a oxygen- and moisture-free Ar-atmosphere glovebox. Our viscosity measurement system was calibrated using a LiCl-KCl eutectic mixture with well-known viscosity value, and viscosity values obtained using our own correction methodology were compared with those of other conventional correction methods. In our further study, we plan to measure the NaCl-MgCl2-UCl3 system at various compositions and temperatures.

Nuclear spent fuel (SNF) disposal in deep geological repositories is considered as one of sound options for the long-term and safe sequestration of radiotoxic SNF and the sustainable use of nuclear energy. The chemical behaviors of various radionuclides originated from SNF should be well understood to evaluate the migrational behaviors of radionuclides and their reactions and interactions with various geochemical components. Formation of secondary minerals, colloids, other insoluble precipitates is of interest since the concentrations of radionuclides in groundwaters can be limited by the solubility of those solid phases. Particularly when evaluating their solubility, the use of well-defined solid materials in terms of chemical composition and molecular structure is crucial to obtain reliable measurement results. In this study, a synthetic calcium uranyl silicate (Ca-U(VI)-silicate, or uranophane) was prepared and characterized by using various analytical methods including powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDX), and vibrational (FTIR and Raman) spectroscopies. Uranyl silicate minerals are significant to the disposal of nuclear wastes. Our simulation demonstrates that uranophane (Ca[UO2SiO3OH]2·5H2O), one having a U:Si ratio of 1:1, can be a mineral species limiting U(VI) solubility under groundwater conditions in Korea. For the preparation of Ca-U(VI)-silicate, we applied a two-step hydrothermal synthetic procedure reported in literature with modification. Briefly, we conclude that the obtained mineral phase is the ‘α-uranophane’; our characterization results show that the structural and spectroscopic properties of the synthetic Ca-U(VI)-silicate agree well with those of α-uranophane. For instance, the pXRD patterns obtained from the solid show nearly identical diffraction peak positions with those from the reference XRD pattern. From IR and Raman spectroscopy it is noticed that the stretching modes of UO2 2+ and SiO4 4- ions result in strong absorption bands in a region of 700 ~ 1,100 cm-1. Elemental compositions of the synthetic solids were also estimated by using EDX analysis, which results in a Ca:U:Si ratio close to 1:2:2 on average. However, we found that it is difficult to obtain good crystallinity of uranophane, which can be observable by using SEM and its image analysis. We believe that this work serves as a model study to provide synthetic routes of radionuclide-related mineral phases and applicable solid phase characterization methods. In the presentation, the potential use of the U(VI)-silicate solid phase for the upcoming groundwater solubility measurements will be discussed. Keywords: Hexavalent Uranium, Silicate

This study presents a rapid and quantitative radiochemical separation method for Nb isotopes in radioactive waste samples from the nuclear power plant with anion exchange resin after Fe coprecipitation. After radionuclides were leached from the radioactive waste samples with concentrated HCl and HNO3, the Nb isotopes were coprecipitated with Fe after filtering the leaching solution with 0.45 micron HA filter, while the Sr, Tc and Ni isotopes were in the solution. The Nb isotopes were separated in HCl medium with anion exchange resin. The purified Nb isotopes were measured using a low level liquid scintillation counter after installing quenching curve with standard Nb-94 isotopes. The separation method for Nb isotopes investigated in this study was applied to neutron dosimeter samples from the nuclear power plant after validating the Nb activity concentration with gamma spectrometry system.

Currently, low and intermediate-level radioactive wastes and spent nuclear fuels are continuously generated in Korea. For the disposal of the radioactive wastes, the transport demand is expected to increase. Prior to transportation, it is necessary to evaluate the radiation risk of transportation to confirm that is not high. In Korea, there is no transportation risk assessment code that reflects domestic characteristics. Therefore, foreign assessment codes are used. In this study, before developing the overland transportation risk assessment code that reflects domestic characteristics, we analyzed the radiation risk assessment methodology in transportation accident codes developed in other countries. RADTRAN and RISKIND codes were selected as representative overland transportation risk assessment codes. For the two codes we analyzed accident scenarios, exposure pathways, and atmospheric diffusion. In RADTRAN, the user classifies accident severity for possible accident scenarios, and the user inputs the probability for each accident severity. On the other hand, in the case of RISKIND, the accident scenarios are classified and the probabilities are determined according to the NRC modal study (LLNL, 1987) in consideration of the cask impact velocity, cask impact angle, and fire temperature. In the case of RISKIND, the accident scenarios are applied only to transportation of spent nuclear fuel, and cannot be defined for low and intermediate-level radioactive waste. However, in the case of RADTRAN, since the severity and probability of accidents are defined by user, it can be applied to low and intermediate-level radioactive wastes. As the exposure pathways considered in transportation accident, both RADTRAN and RISKIND consider external exposure (cloudshine and groundshine), and internal exposure (inhalation, resuspension inhalation and ingestion). In the case of RADTRAN, additionally, external exposure due to loss of shielding (LOS) is considered. Atmospheric diffusion calculation is essential to determine the extent to which radioactive materials are diffused. In both RADTRAN and RISKIND, atmospheric diffusion calculations are based on Gaussian diffusion model. Users must input Pasquill stability class, release height, heat release, wind speed, temperature and mixing height, etc. Additionally, RADTRAN can input weather information relatively simply by inputting only the Pasquill stability class fraction and selecting the US average weather option. This study results will be used as a basis for developing radioactive waste overland transportation risk assessment code that reflects domestic characteristics.

In accordance with the notification of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), environmental impact assessments around nuclear power plants are conducted annually and the results are disclosed to the public. The effects of direct radiation exposure from nuclear power plants as well as liquid effluents and gaseous effluents are taken into consideration in the evaluation of dose calculation for residents. In the United States, regulatory guidelines on direct radiation exposure are described in Reg. Guide 4.1, and the effects of direct radiation are evaluated through regulatory guidelines in Korea. We are going to review optimal evaluation method by reviewing the direct radiation exposure evaluation method currently being conducted in domestic nuclear power plants and the direct radiation exposure evaluation method in overseas nuclear power plants such as in the United States.

The decommissioning of a nuclear power plant is a project that consists of several stages, and various technologies are applied when performing various tasks at each stage. And it is essential to secure safety and economic feasibility. As the paradigm has changed due to digital transformation in various industries, digitalization is applied to the life cycle of nuclear power plant from construction, operation and decommissioning project. Element technologies are being developed for decommissioning plan establishment, process design, econtamination method, decommissioning work process, waste management, environmental monitoring and radiation dose simulation. The utilization of digital twin in the decommissioning stage is classified into three categories. ① Process Monitoring (decommissioning work procedure, work progress (plan/actual), real-time work status and etc.) ② Facility Monitoring (real-time sensing and video data monitoring, decommissioning SSCs information, work alarm and etc.) ③ Safety Monitoring (work safety, radiation exposure, fire monitoring, work risk and etc.) A system suitable for the decommissioning stage and work should be developed in consideration of the target of use, development function, and when to create data according to the purpose of the system. Simulation module according to user purpose should be provided. In addition, data-base management should be performed according to the decommissioning characteristics in consideration of the data associated with the existing operating system. The system to be developed should support the project management to comply with the domestic standards and regulations to be determined in the future. This will improve the competitiveness of domestic and foreign markets.

It is likely to occur internal exposure for workers in Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) due to the intake of radionuclide. To assess the internal exposure dose the measurement of activity for remain radionuclide is necessary. The Whole Body Counters (WBCs) are commonly used for measurement of remain radionuclide activity in human body. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) conduct performance test of WBCs in all NPPs for every year to confirm the performance of equipment. The performance test is conducted using unknown sources and the participants of the comparison test submit the radionuclide and activity of the unknown sources measured by WBC as a result. The performance indicator and criteria for WBC recommended in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) N13.30 report published in 2011 are applied. The performance indicator is Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) and criteria is 0.25 or less. The results of performance test performed in 2022 for all WBC is meet the ANSI N13.30 criteria. And the RMSE values are confirmed from 0.01 to 0.23. This means that the residual radioactivity measurement results using WBC are reliable.

Cement is widely used as representative industrial material. In Korea, about 50 million tons of cement are consumed every year. In the manufacture of cement, raw materials containing NORM such as fly ash and bauxite are used. Therefore, the workers can be subjected to radiation exposure. The major exposure pathway in NORM industries is internal exposure due to inhalation of aerosol. Internal radiation dose due to aerosol inhalation varies depending on physicochemical properties of the aerosol. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate aerosol properties influencing inhalation dose in cement industries. In this study, aerosol properties were measured for two cement manufacturers. A particulate size distribution and concentration at various processing areas in cement manufacturing industries in Korea were analyzed using a cascade impactor. The mass density of raw materials and byproducts were measured using pycnometer. Shape of particulates was analyzed using SEM. The radioactivity concentration of Ra-226, Ra-228 for U/Th decay series was measured using HPGe. Particulate concentration by size was distributed log-normally with maximum at particle size about 7.2 μm in manufacturer A and 5.2 μm in manufacturer B. The mass density of fly ash and cement were 2.3±0.06, 3.2±0.02 g/cm3 respectively in manufacturer A. In manufacturer B, the mass density of bauxite and cement were 3.4±0.02, 2.9±0.01 g/cm3 respectively. The shape of particulates appeared as spherical shape in manufacturer A and B regardless of sampling area. Thus, a shape factor of unity could be assumed. The radioactivity concentrations of Ra-226, Ra-228 were 82±9, 82±8 Bq/kg for fly ash, and 25±4, 23±3 Bq/kg for cement in manufacturer A. In manufacturer B, the radioactivity concentrations of Ra-226, Ra-228 were 344±34, 391±32 Bq/kg for bauxite, and 122±13, 145±12 Bq/kg for cement. The radioactivity concentrations of Ra-226, Ra-228 in cement were less than raw materials such as fly ash and bauxite. It is because the dilution of the radioactivity concentration occurred during mixing with other raw materials in cement production process. This study results will be used as database for accurate dose assessment due to airborne particulate inhalation by workers in cement industries.