The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has facilities that are operated for the purpose of treating radioactive wastes and storing drums before sending them to a disposal site. Domestic regulations related to nuclear facility require radiological dose assessment resulting from release of gaseous radioactive effluent of nuclear facilities. In this study, ICRP-60-based dose conversion factors were applied to evaluate the radiation dose to residents in the event of operation and accident for the radioactive waste management facilities in KAERI. The radioactive gaseous effluent generated from each facility diffuse outside the exclusion area boundary (EAB), causing radiation exposure to residents. To evaluate the external exposure dose, the exposure pathways of cloudshine and radioactive contaminated soil were analyzed. The internal exposure dose was estimated by considering the exposure from respiration and ingestion of agricultural and livestock products. The maximum individual exposure dose was evaluated to be 1.71% compared to the dose limit. The assumed situation used for accidental scenarios are as follows; A fire inside the facility and falling of radioactive waste drum. It was a fire accident that caused the maximum exposure dose to individual and population living within an 80 km radius of the site. At the outer boundary of the low population zone (LPZ), the maximum effective dose and thyroid equivalent dose were estimated as 8.92 E-06% and 5.29 E-06%, respectively, compared to the dose limit. As a result of evaluating the radiological exposure dose from gaseous emissions, the radioactive waste treatment facilities and its supplementary facilities meet the regulations related to nuclear facility, and are operated safely in terms of radiological environmental impact assessment.

Various radioactive metal wastes are generated during operation and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Radioactive metal wastes with complex geometries or volumetric contamination can be difficult to decontaminate and disposal costs may increase. To solve these problems, the radioactive metal wastes can be treated by melting method. In this study, we designed a melting furnace system of air induction melting type, which is widely utilized due to its advantages of good thermal efficiency, uniform heating and guaranteed safety for radioactive material. By utilizing the melting furnace system, volatile radionuclides existed in the base material can be captured in the form of gas or dust by the filter. The radionuclides whose chemical properties can easily form metal oxides present as slag. For this reason, the specific radioactivity of the base material can be reduced. Radionuclides that are difficult to transport to slag and dust are uniformly distributed in the base material. A dedicated power supply and a transformer were necessary to be included in the melting furnace system since the induction furnace uses high-frequency currents. In addition, a hood is placed on top of the furnace to capture fumes generated during melting, and additional hoods were installed around the furnace to remove airborne dust. In particular, a dust collection unit consisting of a cyclone and a HEPA filter were constructed to effectively collect dust containing radionuclides. During the melting process, the slag is removed and accumulated separately, and the ingot production system was designed to produce the ingot using molten metal. The furnace was constructed for tilting the molten metal by moving the furnace using hydraulic system. The water cooling system and cooling tower were prepared to cool off the equipment with high temperature during melting is cooled off. The above process was specified in the operating procedure developed for this melting furnace system, and the operator shall operate and inspect according to the prescribed procedures. The radioactivity concentration in the sample taken in the step of tilting shall be analyzed whether they meet clearance level for self-disposal determined and publicly announced by the Commission. We can conduct self-disposal for the product of melting furnace system confirmed by the Commission as having the radioactivity concentration by nuclide not exceeding the value determined by the Commission.