Regulatory Experiences for the Decommissioning of the Research Reactor in Korea
- Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, P.O Box 114, Yuseong, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)
The first research reactor in Korea (KRR-1, TRIGA Mark-II) has operated since 1962, and the second one (KRR-2, TRIGA Mark-III), since 1972. Both of them were phased out in 1995 due to their lives and the operation of a new research reactor, HANARO (30 MW thermal power) operated by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). After deciding the shutdown by the Nuclear Development and Utilization Committee in March 1996, KAERI began to prepare the decommissioning plan, including the environmental impact assessment, and submitted the plan to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in December 1998. Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) reviewed document and prepared the review report in 1999. KINS is an organization of technical expertise which performs regulatory functions, entrusted by the MOST in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act and its Enforcement Decree. The review report written by KINS was consulted by the Special Committee on Nuclear Safety in January 2000. The committee submitted their consultation results to the Nuclear Safety Commission for the final approval by the Minister of MOST. The license was issued in November 2000. With the consent of the Korean government to the US Record of Decision, the spent fuel of KRR-1 and 2 was safely transported to the United States in July 1998. The decontamination and dismantling of KRR-2 was completed at the end of 2005 but the decommissioning of KRR-1 has been suspended by the problem for the memorial of the reactor. After the decommissioning of the research reactor is finished, the site will be returned to the site owner, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). In this paper, the state-of-art and lessons learnt from recent regulatory activities for decommissioning of KRR- 2 are summarized. In conclusion: since the shutdown of KRR-1 and 2 had been decided, the safe assessment and licensing review were carried out after applying for decommissioning plan of those research reactors by operator. Through the safety assessment and license review, the plan was approved in 2000. The D and D of KRR-2 except Reactor hall of KRR-1 has been performed safely and completed in 2005. On the other hand the integrated safety for the decommissioning has been confirmed by regulatory team inspection. The radioactive waste arising from the dismantling work has been packed mainly in a 4 m{sup 3} containers and stored on site, reactor hall of KRR-2, until the LILW disposal facility is operational. For the whole dismantling work, with respect to the ALARA principle, not only worker protection from radiation and industrial hazard, but also the environment protection should be the first priority. Also much attention has been paid to the record keeping for the future decommissioning of nuclear power plants.
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, Illinois 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21144194
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: DD and R 2007: ANS Topical Meeting on Decommissioning, Decontamination, and Reutilization 2007, Chattanooga, TN (United States), 16-19 Sep 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; 1 ref; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 2007 ANS Topical Meeting on Decommissioning, Decontamination, and Reutilization - DD and R 2007, 336 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Introduction on Recently Revised Regulatory Framework Related to Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities in Korea - 16488
Experiences on a Regulatory Clearance of the Radioactive Wastes at KAERI