Safe radiation management is essential not only for operational nuclear power plants but also for nuclear plants to be decommissioned. When spent nuclear fuel is present on-site, meticulous radiation emergency plans are necessary to ensure safety. In Korea, numerous radiation emergency plans have been established for operational nuclear reactors. These plans delineate distinct response mitigation measures for white, blue, and red emergencies. However, clear regulations are yet to be devised for radiation emergency plans for reactors to be decommission. Therefore, this study investigated the decommissioning plan and status of Kori unit 1 to comprehensively analyze the current status of decommissioning safety in Korea. In this study, radiation emergency plans of decommissioning nuclear power plants abroad were reviewed to confirm radiation emergency action levels. Furthermore, radioactive waste treatment facilities, to be used for decommissioning reactors in Korea were evaluated. Moreover, the study assessed emergency plans (especially, emergency initiating conditions) for operational nuclear power plants in Korea for potential use in the decommissioning phase. This study proposed an emergency initiating condition that can be used for decommissioning reactors in Korea. Considering the anticipated introduction of plasma torch melting facility in Korea, this study examined the conditions of radiation emergency plans can be altered. This study identified effective measures and guidelines for managing radiological emergency initiating conditions, and effective decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Korea.

PURPOSES : The objective of this study was to review roadway management strategies that can be utilized in the event of a radiological emergency, select feasible alternatives, and simulate a portion of the West Coast network to analyze the effectiveness of these strategies. METHODS : The methodology of the study involved reviewing the relevant literature, extracting the implications, establishing an analysis procedure, and selecting an effectiveness evaluation scale. Using a national transportation database, a network was constructed using Toba, a macroscopic model. RESULTS : A reverse-flow lane system was applied to the West Coast Expressway Glory IC–Hampyeong IC (total 25 km), and a plan to increase the number of lanes was applied to the Seokgyo Street–Shinpyeong Intersection on National Route 23 (total extension 28 km). Consequently, both road management strategies were found to be effective. CONCLUSIONS : This study examined roadway management strategies that can be utilized in the event of a radiological emergency, selected feasible alternatives, and simulated a portion of the West Coast network to verify the effectiveness of these strategies. In the case of reverse flow lanes, it is most effective when applied to expressways that can restrict the entrance and exit of vehicles. In the case of increasing the number of lanes, it is most effective when applied to general roads, and institutional arrangements should be made to enable two-way traffic to use the reserved shoulder lanes.

The objective of this study is to investigate the safety awareness and effectiveness of the education and training for employees engaged in radiological emergency organization of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). In 2022, the questionnaire for the education satisfaction survey was revised to regulary evaluate the effect of edcation on perceptions of importance on emergency preparedness for nuclear research facilities. In line with, a standard questionnaire was created which covers 3 factors and 9 attributes, and the evaluation indicatior is based on a 5-point Likert scale. In 2023, the education on radiological emergency preparedness was conducted for 235 emergency staff. From May 24 to July 13, 2023, data was collected from a total of 235 emergency response personnels, including 28 new staffs and 207 maintenance staffs. Aa a result of response analysis, it was identified that education for radiological emergency response had a significant correlation with the promoting safety culture. It was found that senior emergency personnel with more years of experience are highly interested in radioactive disaster prevention and actively participate in and training. On the other hand, it was presented that new and less experienced groups tend to have a relatively high scored of the risk perception of nuclear research facilitites. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the practical curriculum in order to increase the participation of junior disaster prevention personnel in education and training, ensuring that they correctly recognize the risk of research facilities. This results are expected to be used to improve the quality of education and drills for radiological emergency response at KAERI.

The primary objective of radiological environmental monitoring after a radiological emergency at a nuclear facility is acquisition of background data for the determination of protective actions for the population and the comprehensive assessment of the impact on the population residing in proximity to the nuclear facility. The responsible entities engaged in the conduct of the radiological environmental monitoring encompass government organization and nuclear licensees, operating in strict adherence to the national radiological disaster prevention framework. In accordance with the national radiological disaster prevention framework, radiation environmental monitoring is executed through the deployment of emergency response organization, and recurrent exercise drills aimed at augmenting responsible capabilities. In the context of radiation environmental monitoring, it is necessary to specify measurement parameters, monitoring location, and methodological protocols for each stage, considering potential exposure pathways. In terms of equipment, it is important to utilize mobile assets such as aerial or vehicle surveys for rapid and accurate radiation environment monitoring. Radiation disaster drills are regularly conducted, and the radiation environment monitoring field is also regularly trained to enhance response capabilities. The scale of these drills may vary, ranging from exclusive participation by nuclear licensees to joint exercises conducted by governmental agencies. This iterative process of periodic drills and equipment enhancements has led to a progressive augmentation of environmental monitoring capabilities, ensuring a well-coordinated orchestration of radiation monitoring within the framework of radiation protection. Notwithstanding these achievements, challenges in public communication regarding the decision to take protective actions and the dissemination of information to the public. Considering that the purpose of radiation environmental monitoring extends beyond safeguarding public health; it also serves to alleviate public anxiety. In the future, public communication between these stakeholders should also be included in disaster drill programs to ensure proper consultation between each stakeholder during drills and to build understanding and trust in radiation environmental monitoring. This is expected to improve the quality of radiation environmental monitoring response capabilities.

South Korea’s first commercial nuclear reactor, Kori Unit 1, was permanently shut down in 2017, and preparations are currently underway for its decommissioning. After the permanent shutdown, the spent nuclear fuel from the reactor core is removed and stored in a spent fuel storage facility. Subsequently, steps are taken for its permanent disposal, and if a permanent disposal site is not determined, it is stored in an interim storage facility (or temporary storage facility). Therefore, the activation criteria for radiation emergency plans vary depending on the movement of spent nuclear fuel and the storage location. In this study, it reviewed emergency plans in the U.S. NRC Regulatory Guide (Draft) titled ‘Emergency Planning for Decommissioning Nuclear Power Reactors’ to determine the requirements for radiation emergency plans needed for decommissioned nuclear power plants. Additionally, by examining emergency plans applied to decommissioning nuclear power plants in the United States, this study identified emergency plan requirement that could be applicable to future decommissioned nuclear power plants in South Korea. This study will contribute to the establishment of appropriate radiation emergency plans for decommissioning nuclear power plants in Korea for providing accurate information on overseas cases and relevant guidelines.

Domestic nuclear power plants have developed radiological emergency plans based on the USNRC’s NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-Rev.1 report and the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety’s (KINS) research report on radiation emergency criteria for power reactors (KINS/RR-12). NUREG-0654 is a US emergency planning guide for nuclear power plants and provides detailed technical requirements for the content of radiological emergency plans. The document classifies radiological emergencies into three levels: Alert, Site Area Emergency, and General Emergency, which correspond to the white, blue, and red emergency levels used in domestic nuclear power plants. KINS/RR-12 is a technical guidance document published by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety in 2012, which divides radiological emergency criteria into criteria for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and criteria for boiling water reactors (BWRs), and describes in detail the regulatory position and implementation of radiological emergency criteria for domestic PWRs and BWRs. The physical protection-related radiation emergency criteria included in the radiological emergency plan are specified in the radiological emergency criteria guidelines. There are two items each related to white and blue emergencies and one item related to red emergencies. Standard order of emergency plan lists the physical protection-related radiological emergency criteria for domestic PWRs and BWRs, which are identical according to the radiological emergency criteria guidelines. To enhance the physical protection regulation, the legal and regulatory basis for target set identification and vital area identification need to be established by considering radiological and physical protection emergency plan.

Radioactive materials depositied after nuclear accident or radiological emergency result in radiation exposure to individuals living in long-term contaminated territories. Therefore, the remedial actions should be taken on affected areas for the evacuated residents to return to their homes and normal lifestyle. Meanwhile, radiation exposure occurs through various pathways by work types during the site clean-up. Therefore, dose assessment is crucial to protect emergency workers and helpers from the potential radiological risk. This study estimated the exposure dose to individuals decontaminating the areas contaminated with 60Co, 63Ni, 90Sr, 134Cs, 137Cs, and then calculated the maximum workable soil concentration to comply with the reference level of 20 mSv/y for transition to existing exposure situations. For the realistic assessment, the detailed exposure scenarios depending on the types of work (excavation, collection, transportation, disposal, landfill), and the relevant exposure pathways were used. In addition, with the LHS (Latin Hypercube Sampling) - PRCC (Partial Rank Correlation Coefficient) method, sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the influence of the input parameters and their variation on the model outcomes. As a result, the most severe exposure-induced type was identified as the excavator operation with an annual individual dose of 4.75E-01 mSv at the unit soil concentration (1 Bq/g), from which the derived maximum workable soil concentration was 4.21E+01 Bq/g. Dose contribution by isotopes were found to be 60Co (55.63%), 134Cs (32.01%), and 137Cs (12.28%), and the impact of 63Ni and 90Sr were found to be negligible. Dose contribution by exposure pathways decreased in the following order: ground-shine, soil ingestion, dust inhalation, and skin contamination. Furthermore, the most high sensitive input parameters and their PRCC were found to be as the dilution factor (0.75) and as the exposure time (0.63). In conclusion, the results are expected to contribute to optimize radiation protection strategeis for recovery workers and to establish appropriate response procedures to be applicable in areas with high deposition density after a radiological or nuclear emergency.

When the leakage of radioactive material or radiation to the environment or a concern, it is important to accurately understand the impact on the environment. Therefore, environmental effects evaluation using modeling based on meteorological data and source-term data is carried out, or environmental radiation monitoring which is an emergency response activity that directly measures dose is performed. As lessons learned from the Fukushima accident, environmental effects evaluation and modeling cannot utilize during the emergency and decision-making process for protective action for the public. Thus, rapid environmental radiation monitoring is required. In Korea, when an emergency is issued at a nuclear facility, urgent environmental radiation monitoring is conducted based on the national nuclear emergency preparedness and response plan, which can provide important information for decisionmaking on public protective actions. A review of strategies for urgent environmental radiation monitoring is important in performing efficient emergency responses. The main purpose of urgent environmental radiation monitoring is to gather data for decisionmaking on public protective actions to minimize the damage from the accident. For effective data collection and distribution, support from the national and local government and local public organizations and radiation expertise groups, and nuclear facility licensee are required. In addition, an emergency environmental radiation monitoring manual is required to immediately perform environmental monitoring in an emergency situation. The manual for emergency monitoring should include the activities to be conducted according to the phases of the emergency. The phases of the emergency are divided into pre-leakage, post-leakage, intermediate, and recovery. The reasons for establishing strategies are government and public information, the implementation of urgent population protection countermeasures, predicting and tracking plume trajectory, and detection of any release, the protection of emergency and recovery workers, the implementation of agricultural countermeasures and food restrictions, the implementation of intermediate- and recovery-phase countermeasures, contamination control. Besides meteorological data, ambient dose rate and dose, airborne radionuclide concentration, environmental deposition, food, water, and environmental contamination, individual dose, and object surface contamination data are also required for making information for the public.

Once a radioactive material is released from the nuclear power plant (NPP) by accident, it is necessary to understand the behavior of radioactive plume to protect residents adequately. For this, it is essential to measure the radiation dose rate around NPPs at important locations. Our previous study developed a movable radiation detector that can be installed quickly in an accident to measure gamma dose rate in areas where environmental radiation monitoring system is not installed. The data measured by the detector are transmitted to the server in real-time through LoRA wireless communications. There are two methods to use LoRA communications; one is self-network, and the other is the network provided by the mobile carrier. A signal receiver, called a gateway, should be equipped near the installation location of radiation detectors to use a self-network without using the mobile carrier’s system. In other words, the movable radiation detectors we made can function if there should be any gateway near them. The distance capable of communication between gateway and detector is about 8 km in an open area without significant obstacles. Korea has many significant obstacles, such as mountains around most NPPs. Thus, the gateways could be installed in the proper position before the accident to operate the movable radiation detectors without problems. If the gateway is located at a high position like a mountain top, it could cover a wide area. In this study, the elevation database in the area around the NPPs was collected and analyzed to determine where gateways should be installed. The analysis range is limited in the urgent protective action planning zone. The optimization was also performed to minimize the number of gateways.

An Emergency Diesel Generator (EDG) installed in a nuclear power plant is the primary power source, supplying AC power to Class 1E power systems when the main turbine generator and offsite power source are not available. Thus, reliability of the EGD is essential for plant safety and availability. In this paper, the EDG is selected for a Long Term Asset Management (LTAM) strategy and the results are summarized briefly. The LTAM strategy is intended to provide an effective long-term planning tool for minimizing unplanned capability loss and then optimizing maintenance programs and capital investments consistent with plant safety and an identified plant operating strategy. Such an operating strategy might include license renewal or retaining the option for license renewal.

An emergency diesel generator(EDG) manufactured by a French company Wartsila SACM is a tandem type engine and consisted of two 10 cylindered diesel engines on each side. The maintenance manual provided by the manufacturer recommends that engine bearing be inspected every 15 years. However, it is difficult to inspect them because the manhole located in the lower compartment of the engine is too small for maintenance worker to access engine internals. Furthermore, the EDG should be disassembled and then overturned to inspect bearings unlike other EDG type. Such process will take longer period time than ordinary maintenance period. So it is not possible to inspect the main engine bearing and crank shaft during a routine or scheduled maintenance. In this paper, five methods are proposed and estimated to resolve the problem and the optimal maintenance method is chosen among them. The proposed optimal maintenance plan makes it possible to perform proper maintenance during regular maintenance period and to lower maintenance cost considerably.