Currently, off-site dose calculations for nuclear power plants are conducted using a computer program (K-DOSE 60). The program is developed based on the regulatory guidelines of the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), which is a domestic nuclear regulatory agency. In this study, a domestic application of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) TRS (Technical Reports Series)-472 methodology for 3H and 14C in liquid effluents was studied. The dose-evaluation methods adopted and the program configuration for dose evaluation are described based on 3H and 14C in the liquid-effluent-evaluation module of the computer program. The accuracy of the program is verified by comparing the program-calculated results with hand calculation values. Furthermore, a comparative evaluation with LADTAP II, which is a liquid-effluent-evaluation methodology developed by the U.S. NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), is performed. The result confirms that the program-calculated results for the IAEA TRS-472 methodology are consistent with the hand calculation values. Meanwhile, the result of comparative evaluation with LADTAP II indicates different results depending on the methodology used.

Domestic nuclear power plants conduct radiological environmental impact assessments every year in accordance with the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) notice. Among them, gaseous effluents are evaluated for their effects due to inhalation, external exposure in the air, exposure from ground surface deposits, food intake. In order to evaluate the impact of this exposure pathway, an evaluation point for each pathway must be selected. In the case of evaluation points, each country has different evaluation points. In the case of Korea, the evaluation point is calculated on the assumption that one lives 365 days a year at the EAB and consumes food from the nearest production area. In the case of the United States, external exposure and inhalation are evaluated at the site boundary or the nearest residential area, and food intake is evaluated by assuming that food produced in the nearest residential area or the nearest production area is consumed. Currently, the dose evaluation is optimized and selected so that EAB evaluation point for each site includes 16 direction evaluation points for each unit. In the E-DOSE60 program currently under development, the evaluation point was selected by calculating 16 direction x number of units without optimization. The food intake evaluation point was selected as the point that satisfies the minimum farmland area of the U.S. NRC NUREG-1301 and is the shortest distance from the site. The location of the production point from multiple units in included all 16 directions for each unit and quantity of evaluation points was optimized to satisfy the shortest distance. It can contribute to improving the reliability of the E-DOSE60 program currently under development by selecting new evaluation points for evaluating inhalation and external exposure evaluation and selecting optimized dose evaluation points for each site for evaluation by ingestion.

The US NRC developed a program called NRCDose3 to evaluates the environmental impact of radiation around nuclear facilities. The NRCDose3 code is a software suite that integrates the functionality of three individual LADTAP II, GASPAR II, and XOQDOQ Fortran codes that were developed by the NRC in the 1980’s and have been in use by the nuclear industry and the NRC staff for assessments of liquid effluent and gaseous effluent, and meteorological transport and dispersion, respectively. Through the integrated program, it is possible to conduct safety assessment and environmental impact assessment from liquid and gaseous effluent when operating permits are granted. In addition to a more user-friendly graphic user interface (GUI) for inputting data, significant changes have been made to the data management and operation to support expanded capabilities. The basic calculation methods of the LADTAP II, GASPAR II, and XOQDOQ have not been changed with this update to the NRCDose3 code. Several features have been added. The previous program used only ICRP-2 dose conversion factor, but the new program can additionally use dose conversion factor of ICRP-30 and ICRP-72. In the previous program, 4 age groups (infant, child, teen, and adult) were evaluated during dose evaluation, but when ICRP-72 was selected, 6 age groups (infant, 1-year, 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, and adult) could be evaluated. In addition, when selecting ICRP-72, many user-modifiable parameters such as food intake and exposure time were added. It will be referred to E-DOSE60, a program currently under development.

After the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011, interest in technology for evaluating residents’ exposure to effluents generated from nuclear power plants at the time of the accident has increased. KHNP has developed the S-REDAP program and is using it to evaluate radiation dose and recommend resident protection measures in the event of a nuclear power plant emergency. Its main functions are source term evaluation, atmospheric diffusion evaluation, radiation dose evaluation, etc. Based on these evaluations, resident protection measures are evaluated. In Japan, evaluation is conducted through a program called SPEEDI-MP (System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information Multi-model Package) created by JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency). Similar to S-REDAP, the program also evaluates effluents emitted from nuclear facilities through source term evaluation and atmospheric diffusion factor evaluation. In JAEA, through a program using SPEEDI-MP, the source term evaluation was performed in collaboration with NSC (Nuclear Safety Commission) in the event of the Fukushima nuclear plant accident, and dose evaluation in Japan was performed 2 months as an atmospheric diffusion factor using meteorological data for 2 days. Through comparative analysis of evaluation data from Japan, improvements to the current program be derived.

K-DOSE60, a off-site dose calculation program currently used by khnp, is performing evaluation based on the gaseous effluent evaluation methodology of NRC Reg. Guide 1.109. In particular, H-3 and C-14, which are the major nuclides of gaseous effluent, are evaluated using a ratio activity model. Among them, H-3 is additionally evaluating the dose to OBT (Organically Bound Tritium) and HT as well as HTO (Triated water). However, NRC Reg. Guide 1.109 is a methodology developed in the 1970s, and verification was performed by applying the evaluation methodology of H-3 and C-13 presented by IAEA TRS-472 in 2010 to the current K-DOSE60. The IAEA TRS-472 methodology also includes OBT and HT for H-3. In order to apply the ratio radioactivity model presented in IAEA TRS-472, the absolute and relative humidity were calculated using the weather tower of the nuclear site and used for H-3 evaluation. For the dose evaluation of HT, the previously used Canada Chalk River Lab. (CNL) conversion factor was used. For atmospheric carbon concentration, the carbon concentration presented in IAEA TRS-472 was used, not the carbon concentration in the 1970s of NRC Reg. Guide 1.109. It was confirmed that the K-DOSE60, which applied the changed input data and methodology, was satisfied by performing comparative verification with the numerical calculation value.

In 2022 and 2023, the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS), a regulatory body, revised the regulatory guidelines for off-site dose evaluation to residents, marine characteristics surveys around nuclear facilities, and environmental radiation surveys and evaluation around nuclear facilities. In addition, the NRC, a US regulatory body, has revised regulatory guide 1.21 (MEASURING, EVALUATING, AND REPORTING RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL IN LIQUID AND GASEOUS EFFLUENTS AND SOLID WASTE) to change environmental programs for nuclear facilities. The domestic regulatory guidelines were revised and added to reflect the experience of site dose evaluation for multiple units during the operation license review of nuclear facilities, the resident exposure dose age group was modified to conform to ICRP-72, and the environmental monitoring plan was clarified. In the case of the US, the recommended guidelines for updating the long-term average atmospheric diffusion factor and deposition factor, the clarification of the I-131 environmental monitoring guidelines for drinking water, and the clarification of the procedures described in the technical guidelines when changing environmental programs have been revised and added. Through such regulatory trend review, it is necessary to preemptively respond to changes in the regulatory environment in the future.

Currently, there are 25 nuclear power plants (NPPs) in operation in Korea, including 22 pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and three pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs). Two NPPs, including Kori Unit 1 and Wolsong Unit 1, are permanently shut down and awaiting decommissioning. If Kori Unit 2, which is expected to be permanently shut down soon, is included, the number of decommissioning NPPs will be increased to three. Spent fuels (SFs) are continuously generated during the NPP operation, which are stored in an SF storage pool in NPPs to cool down the decay heat emitted from SFs. For safe NPP operation, SFs must be regarded as waste, and a disposal site must be selected to isolate SFs. However, an appropriate site has yet to be selected in Korea. SFs contain long-lived nuclides with a high specific activity. For disposal, it is important to characterize the nuclides in the fuels and delay the migration of the nuclides to the environment when SFs are placed in a future disposal facility. If the disposal container is broken, the nuclides in the fuels escape from the filling material, such as bentonite. These escaped nuclides are dissolved in groundwater and migrate to the surface of the earth. Thus, it is possible to assess the radiological impact, such as the exposure dose during and after the disposal, if the types and characteristics of nuclides in SFs are known. This study investigated the nuclides in SFs and identified exposure scenarios that may occur in the disposal process of SFs and migration characteristics when the nuclides leak into groundwater to propose a dose assessment methodology for workers and the public.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) states that every environmental report prepared for the licensing stage of a Pressurized Water Reactor shall contain a statement concerning risk during the transportation of fuel and radioactive wastes to and from the reactor. Thus, the licensee should ensure that the radiological effect in accidents, as well as normal conditions in transport, do not exceed certain criteria or be small if cannot be numerically quantified. These are specified in 10 CFR Part 51 and applied in NUREG-1555 Supplement 1 Revision 1, which deals with Environmental Standard Review Plan. Corresponding regulations in Korea would be the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission Notice No. 2020-7. In Appendix 2 of the Notice, guides on the radiological environmental report for production and utilization facilities, spent nuclear fuel interim storage facilities, and radioactive waste disposal facilities. In this guide, unlike the regulations in the U.S., there are no obligations for radiological dose assessment for workers and public during the transportation. Therefore, overall regulations and their legal basis related to risk assessment during transportation conducted for the environmental report in the U.S. were analyzed in this study. On top of that, through the comparison with regulations in Korea, differences between the two systems were figured out. Finally, this study aims to find the points in terms of assessing transport risk to be revised in the current regulatory system in Korea.

Currently, radioactive waste for disposal has been restricted to low and intermediate level radioactive waste generated during operation of nuclear power plants, and these radioactive wastes were managed and disposed of the 200 L and 320 L of steel drums. However, it is expected that it will be difficult to manage a large amount of decommissioning waste of the Kori unit 1 with the existing drums and transportation containers. Accordingly, the KORAD is currently developing various and largesized containers for packaging, transportation, and disposal of decommissioning waste. In this study, the radiation exposure doses of workers and the public were evaluated using RADTRAN computational analysis code in case of the domestic onroad transportation of new package and transportation containers under development. The results were compared with the domestic annual dose limit. In addition, the sensitivity of the expected exposure dose according to the change in the leakage rate of radionuclides in the waste packaging was evaluated. As a result of the evaluation, it was confirmed that the exposure dose under normal and accident condition was less than the domestic annual exposure dose limit. However, in the case of a number of loading and unloading operations, working systems should be prepared to reduce the exposure of workers.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has developed geological repository systems for the disposal of high-level wastes and spent nuclear fuels (SNFs) in South Korea. The purpose of the most recently developed system, the improved KAERI Reference Disposal System Plus (KRS+), is to dispose of all SNFs in Korea with improved disposal area efficiency. In this paper, a system-level safety assessment model for the KRS+ is presented with long-term assessment results. A system-level model is used to evaluate the overall performance of the disposal system rather than simulating a single component. Because a repository site in Korea has yet to be selected, a conceptual model is used to describe the proposed disposal system. Some uncertain parameters are incorporated into the model for the future site selection process. These parameters include options for a fractured pathway in a geosphere, parameters for radionuclide migration, and repository design dimensions. Two types of SNF, PULS7 from a pressurized water reactor and Canada Deuterium Uranium from a heavy water reactor, were selected as a reference inventory considering the future cumulative stock of SNFs in Korea. The highest peak radiological dose to a representative public was estimated to be 8.19×10-4 mSv‧yr-1, primarily from 129I. The proposed KRS+ design is expected to have a high safety margin that is on the order of two times lower than the dose limit criterion of 0.1 mSv‧yr-1.

다수호기 부지에 위치한 원전의 해체는 인근에 위치한 운영중인 원전으로 인해 작업자에게 추가적인 방사선 피폭 위험을 야기할 수 있다. 따라서 인근의 운영중인 다수호기 원전에 의한 해체 작업자에 대한 피폭 선량 평가가 필요하다. ENDOS프로그램은 한국원자력연구원(KAERI)에서 개발된 선량평가 전산코드로, 하위 프로그램으로 대기 확산 평가 프로그램인 ENDOSATM과 기체 방사성 배출물에 의한 피폭 선량 계산을 수행하는 ENDOS-G가 있다. 이 프로그램들을 이용하여 고리 1호기 해 체작업자에 대한 다수호기 원전 운영에 의한 피폭 선량을 계산한 결과, 2.31×10-3 mSv·y-1로 일반인에 대한 피폭선량 기준치인 1 mSv·y-1에 비교해 보았을때 큰 영향이 없을 것이라는 판단에 도달할 수 있었다. 앞으로 예상되는 국내 해체 원전의 경우 모두 다수호기 부지에 위치하여 이 연구 방법과 결과가 활용될 수 있을 것이라고 기대한다.

국내 최초의 상업원전인 고리1호기가 2017년 6월에 영구 정지되었다. 고리1호기 해체를 시작으로 한국은 원전 해체시장에 본격적으로 발을 내딛는다. 원자력발전소 해체를 위해서는 고려해야 할 사항들이 많으며, 방사선환경영향평가 또한 그 중 하나이다. 방사선환경영향평가의 목적은 주변주민의 건강과 안전을 도모하기 위해, 해체 전 및 해체 중에 해당 시설에서 방 출되는 방사성물질로부터 주변주민이 받는 피폭방사선량이 규제 제한치를 초과하지 않음을 확인하는 것이다. 현재 국내에는 해체시 방사선환경영향평가서를 작성하는데 필요한 세부지침이 미비한 상황으로, 다수의 원전 해체 경험을 보유한 미국의 해체시 방사선환경영향평가서를 비교·분석하여 국내 상황에 맞는 해체시 방사선환경영향평가 방안을 개발하였다.

국내 원자력발전소의 사용후핵연료는 소내저장시설에 보관되어 있으나 저장시설의 용량 확장이 어려움이 있으며, 연구기관 의 연구로에서 발생하는 고준위 방사성폐기물도 자체 보관중이나 영구적으로 저장할 수 없다. 또한 원전의 해체 시에도 고 준위 방사성폐기물이 발생할 것으로 예상된다. 이에 따라, 본 연구에서는 현재 개발된 사용후핵연료 운반용기를 사용하여 고준위 방사성폐기물을 가상의 관리시설로 철도를 통하여 운반하는 경우에 대하여 작업자 및 운반경로 주변 일반인의 예상 피폭선량을 평가하였으며, 그 결과를 국내 법적기준치와 비교하였다. 또한, 고준위 방사성폐기물의 상하차 작업 시 작업자 와 운반용기 간 거리와 운반사고 시 방사성핵종의 누출율의 변화에 따른 피폭선량의 변화에 따른 피폭선량 추이와 운반에 사용되는 열차의 구성에 따른 운반작업자의 피폭선량 변화를 분석하였다. 본 연구에서 설정한 모든 조건에서의 예상피폭선 량은 국내 법적제한치 이하임을 확인하였다.

경주 중·저준위 방사성폐기물 처분시설의 운영에 따라, 한국원자력연구원(대전)에 임시보관 중인 방사성동위원소폐기물 을 처분시설로 육상운반하였다. 본 연구에서는 방사성동위원소폐기물의 국내육상운반에 따른 작업자 및 일반인에 대한 방 사선 피폭선량을 평가하고 그 결과를 국내 방사선피폭 법적제한치와 비교하였다. 또한 방사성폐기물의 상하차 작업 시 작업 자와 드럼 간 거리 및 방사성핵종 누출율의 변화에 따른 예상피폭선량의 민감도를 분석하였다. 정상 및 사고조건에서의 예 상피폭선량은 국내 법적제한치를 충분히 만족하였음을 확인하였다.