Radioactive waste is typically disposed of using standard 200 and 320 L drums based on acceptance criteria. However, there have been no cases evaluating the disposal and suitability of 200 L steel drums for RI waste disposal. There has been a lack of prior assessments regarding the disposal and suitability of 200 L steel drums for the disposal of RI waste. Radioactive waste is transported to disposal facilities after disposal in containers, where the drums are loaded and temporarily stored. Subsequently, after repackaging the disposal drums, the repackaged drums are transported to disposal facilities by vehicle or ship for permanent disposal. Disposal containers can be susceptible to damage due to impacts during transportation, handling, and loading, leading to potential damage to the radiation primer coating during loading. Additionally, disposal containers may be subject to damage from electrochemical corrosion, necessitating the enhancement of corrosion resistance. Metal composite coatings can be employed to enhance both abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance. The application of metal composite coatings to disposal containers can improve the durability and radiation shielding performance of radioactive waste disposal containers. The thickness of radioactive waste disposal containers is determined through radioactive shielding analysis during the design process. The designed disposal containers undergo structural analysis, considering loading conditions based on the disposal environment. This paper focuses on evaluating the structural improvements achieved through the implementation of metal composite coatings with the goal of enhancing corrosion and abrasion resistance.

The development of existing radioactive waste (RI waste) management technologies has been limited to processing techniques for volume reduction. However, this approach has limitations as it does not address issues that compromise the safety of RI waste management, such as the leakage of radioactive liquid, radiation exposure, fire hazards, and off-gas generation. RI waste comes in various forms of radioactive contamination levels, and the sources of waste generation are not fixed, making it challenging to apply conventional decommissioning and disposal techniques from nuclear power plants. This necessitates the development of new disposal facilities suitable for domestic use. Various methods have been considered for the solidification of RI waste, including cement solidification, paraffin solidification, and polymer solidification. Among these, the polymer solidification method is currently regarded as the most suitable material for RI waste immobilization, aiming to overcome the limitations of cement and paraffin solidification methods. Therefore, in this study, a conceptual design for a solidification system using polymer solidification was developed. Taking into account industrial applicability and process costs, a solidification system using epoxy resin was designed. The developed solidification system consists of a pre-treatment system (fine crush), solidification system, cladding system, and packing system. Each process is automated to enhance safety by minimizing user exposure to radioactive waste. The cladding system was designed to minimize defects in the solidified material. Based on the proposed conceptual design in this paper, we plan to proceed with the specific design phase and manufacture performance testing equipment based on the basic design.

현행 규제요건에 따르면 국내에서 발생된 모든 폐밀봉선원은 자체처분 대상, 극저준위 또는 중·저준위 방사성폐기물에 해 당하며, 기본적으로 방사능 농도를 기준으로 한 처분방식 제한규정을 준수해야 한다. 본 연구에서는 이러한 분류체계 이외 에 IAEA 및 국외 폐밀봉선원 사용국의 방사성폐기물 분류체계, 폐밀봉선원 고유 특성 등에 대한 검토 및 분석결과를 토대 로 반감기 및 A/D 값(각 선원의 방사능(A)을 작업자 및 일반 대중에 대한 잠재적 위험도를 의미하는 방사성핵종 고유의‘D 값’을 활용하여 정규화한 수치로 선원의 상대적 위험을 평가하는 기초적인 기준으로 사용)에 대한 기준을 추가적으로 적용 하여 국내 폐밀봉선원 분류체계에 대한 방안을 제시한 후, 각 범주에 대한 처분방식을 도출하였다. 다양한 처분시점을 상정 한 국내 폐밀봉선원 특성 분석 및 처분방안별 대상 수량·체적 평가결과를 통해 본 연구에서 도출된 처분방안을 처분 예상 시기와 무관하게 2015년 3월말 기준으로 임시저장 중인 모든 폐밀봉선원에 대해 적용할 수 있음을 확인하였다. 단, 방사능 량을 확인할 수 없거나 비방사능 또는 A/D 값을 산출할 수 없는 선원에 대해서는 본 연구결과를 적용할 수 없으므로 처분방 안 이행을 위해서는 사전에 비방사능, 체적 등의 선원 고유 특성이 반드시 확인되어야 한다.