To secure approval for a decommissioning plan in Korea, it is essential to evaluate contamination dispersion through groundwater during the decommissioning process. To achieve this, licensees must assess the groundwater characteristics of the facility’s site and subsequently develop a groundwater flow model. It is worth noting that Combustible Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility (CRWTF) is characterized by their simplicity and absence of liquid radioactive waste generation. Given these facility characteristics, the groundwater flow model for CRWTF utilizes data from neighboring facilities, with the feasibility of using reference data substantiated through comparative analysis involving groundwater characteristic testing and on-site modeling. To enable a comparison between the actual site’s groundwater characteristics and the referenced modeling, two types of hydraulic constant characterization tests were conducted. First, hydraulic conductivity was determined through long-term pumping and recovery tests. The ‘Theis’ and ‘Cooper-Jacob’ equations, along with the ‘Theis recovery’ equation, were applied to calculate hydraulic conductivity, and the final result adopted the average of the calculated values. Secondly, a groundwater flow test was conducted to confirm the alignment between the main flow direction of the referenced model and the groundwater flow in the CRWTF, utilizing the particle tracking technique. The evaluation of hydraulic conductivity from the hydraulic constant test revealed that the measured value at the actual site was approximately 1.84 times higher than the modeled value. This variance is considered valid, taking into consideration the modeling’s calibration range and the fact that measurements were taken during a period characterized by wet conditions. Furthermore, a close correspondence was observed between the groundwater flow direction in the reference model (ranging from 90° to 170°) and the facility’s actual flow direction (ranging from 78° to 95°). The results of reference data for the CRWTF, based on the nearby facility’s model, were validated through the hydraulic properties test. Consequently, the modeling data can be employed for the demolition plan of CRWTF. It is also anticipated that these comparative analysis methods will be instrumental in shaping the groundwater investigation plans for facilities with characteristics similar to CRWTF.

In light of recent significant seismic events in Korea and worldwide, there is an urgent need to reevaluate the adequacy of seismic assessments conducted during facility construction. This study reexamines the ongoing viability of the Safety Shutdown Earthquake (SSE) criteria assessment for the Combustible Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility (CRWTF) site at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI), originally established in 1994. To validate the SSE assessment, we delineated 13 seismic structure zones within the Korean Peninsula and employed two distinct methodologies. Initially, we updated earthquake occurrence data from 1994 to the present year (2023) to assess changes in the site’s horizontal maximum earthquake acceleration (g). Subsequently, we conducted a comparative analysis using the same dataset, contrasting the outcomes derived from the existing distance attenuation equation with those from the most recent attenuation equations to evaluate the reliability of the applied attenuation model. The Safety Shutdown Earthquake (SSE) criterion of 0.2 g remains unexceeded, even when considering recent earthquake events since the original evaluation in 1994. Furthermore, when applying various assessment equations developed subsequently, the maximum value obtained from the previously utilized ‘Donvan and Bornstein’ attenuation equation is 0.1496 g, closely resembling the outcome derived from the recently employed ‘Lee’ reduction equation of 0.1451 g. The SSE criteria for CRWTF remain valid in the current context, even in light of recent seismic occurrences such as the 2016 Gyeongju earthquake. Additionally, the attenuation equation employed in the evaluation consistently yields conservative results when compared to methodologies used in recent assessments. Consequently, the existing SSE criteria remain valid at present. This study is expected to serve as a valuable reference for confirming the SSE criterion assessment of similarly constructed facilities within KAERI.

The type of radioactive waste that may occur in the process of NPP dismantling can be classified into solid, liquid, gas, and mixed waste. Most of the radioactive waste generated during the dismantling of a NPP is metal solid waste, but liquid radioactive waste is also a very important factor in terms of radiation environmental impact assessment. In the case of liquid radioactive waste, it is necessary to calculate the generation amount in order to design liquid radioactive waste processing system of Radioactive Waste Treatment Facility (RWTF). Depending on the amount of liquid radioactive waste generated, the type of liquid radioactive waste processing system included in the RWTF is different. In addition, in order to apply to the domestic RWTF, it is important to secure the site area occupied by the each system, the liquid radioactive waste treatment capacity of the system, and how to secure circulating water used for dilution and discharge of liquid radioactive waste. Therefore, this review aims to suggest an optimal method for the treatment system for liquid radioactive waste included in RWTF of Wolseong.

The decommissioning of Korea’s nuclear power facilities is expected to take place starting with the Kori Unit 1 followed by the Wolsong Unit 1. In Korea, since there is no experience of decommissioning, considerations of site selection for the waste treatment facilities and reasonable selection methods will be needed. Only when factors to be considered for construction are properly selected and their effects are properly analyzed, it will be possible to operate a treatment facility suitable for future decommissioning projects. Therefore, this study aims to derive factors to be considered for the site selection of treatment facilities and present a reasonable selection methodology through evaluation of these factors. In order to select a site for waste treatment facilities, three virtual locations were applied in this study: warehouse 1 to warehouse 3. Such a virtual warehouse could be regarded as a site for construction warehouses, material warehouses, annexed building sites, and parking lots in nuclear facilities. If the selection of preliminary sites was made in the draft, then it is necessary to select the influencing factors for these sites. The site of the treatment facility shall be suitable for the transfer of the waste from the place where the dismantling waste is generated to the treatment facility. In addition, in order for construction to take place, interference with existing facilities and safety should not be affected, and it should not be complicated or narrow during construction. Considering the foundation and accessibility, the construction of the facility should be economical, and the final dismantling of the facility should also be easy. In order to determine one final preferred plan with three hypothetical locations and five influencing factors, there will be complex aspects and it will be difficult to maintain consistency as the evaluation between each factor progresses. Therefore, we introduce the Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP) methodology to perform pairwise comparison between factors to derive an optimal plan. One optimal plan was selected by evaluating the three virtual places and five factors of consideration presented in this study. Given the complexity and consistency of multiple influencing factors present and prioritizing them, AHP tools help users make decisions easier by providing simple and useful features. Above all, it will be most important to secure sufficient grounds for pairwise comparison between influencing factors and conduct an evaluation based on this.

Starting with the permanent shutdown of Kori Unit 1, the first waste treatment facility in Korea will be built on the Kori site. In this facility, major process such as decontamination, cutting, radiation measurement and volume reduction of decommissioning waste are performed, and radioactive liquid waste is generated by the waste treatment process and personnel decontamination. The generated liquid waste is finally discharged to the sea through radioactive monitoring system after sufficient treatment to meet the standard radiological effluent control. Whereas the treated liquid waste is additionally diluted through the circulation water discharge conduit and discharged to the sea in the operating nuclear power plants, there is no circulation water in the waste treatment facility. Therefore, a new discharging method for dilution after treatment should be considered. In this paper, the treatment concept and discharge method of radioactive liquid waste system in waste treatment facility are reviewed.

In Korea, two decommissioning projects have been carried out due to retire of nuclear research facilities such as Korean research reactors (KRR-1 & KRR-2) and a uranium conversion plant (UCP). The decommissioning of the KRR-2 and a uranium conversion plant (UCP) at KAERI were finished completely by 2011, whereas the decommissioning of KRR-1 is currently underway. The large quantity of radioactive waste was generated during the decommissioning the KRR and UCF such as concrete waste, soil, combustible and non combustible waste. The volume reduction of the combustible wastes through the incineration technologies has merits from the view point of decrease in the amount of waste to be disposed of resulting in a reduction of the disposal cost. Incineration is generally accepted as a method of reducing the volume of radioactive waste. The incineration technology is effective treatment method that contains hazardous chemical as well as radioactive contamination. Incinerator burns waste at high temperatures. Incineration of a mixture of chemically hazardous and radioactive materials, known as“mixed waste,”has two principal goals: to reduce the volume and total chemical toxicity of the waste. Incineration itself does not destroy the metals or reduce the radioactivity of the waste. A proven melting technology is currently used for low-level waste (LLW) at several facilities worldwide. These facilities use melting as a means of processing LLW for unrestricted release of the metal or for recycling within the nuclear sector. Fig. 1 shows the schematic diagram of the oxygen-enriched incineration (OEI) and melting facility. The oxygen-enriched incinerator located at the KAERI. The system consists of a waste preparation system, incineration system, off-gas cooling system, and off-gas treatment system. Demonstration incineration facility took over the responsibilities of KHNP for decommissioned combustible waste. After taking over the demonstration incineration facility from KHNP, the facility was modified, and work toward the licensing procedure, and an extension of the object waste including alpha-bearing waste and increase incineration capacity, began in June 2011. The melt decontamination technology is the most effective treatment method for decommissioned metal waste. Melting for size reduction would require no prior surface decontamination and very little sorting of the waste material. Also, the recycling or volume reduction of the metallic wastes through the melt decontamination technologies has merits from the view point of an increase in resource recycling as well as a decrease in the amount of waste to be disposed of resulting in a reduction of the disposal cost and an enhancement of the disposal safety. Melt facility consist of four system such as preparation system, melting system, ingot treatment, and off-gas treatment system. The decommissioned combustible waste has been incineration by incinerator from last year. In case of metal waste, metal waste will be melt for self-disposal and volume reduction by induction furnace. Combustible wastes were treated by incinerator and ash dispose permanently site. In case of metal wastes is treated by induction furnace and slag dispose permanently site and ingot will be reuse.