Korean Second National Report Under the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Korean Implementation of the Obligations of the Joint Convention Second Review Meeting

The Korean government has maintained a consistent national policy for stable energy supply by fostering nuclear power industries under the insufficient energy resources in the country. Nuclear power reached approximately 40 % of total domestic electricity generation. Since the commencement of the first commercial operation of Kori Unit 1 in April 1978, 20 units of NPPs are commercially operating as of October 2005. Four units out of the 20 operating NPPs are Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) at Wolsong. The 16 units located in Kori, Yonggwang, and Ulchin are Pressurized Light Water Reactors (PWRs). The spent fuels generated from these NPPs are stored in spent fuel storage pools at the reactors or an on-site dry storage facility. The low and intermediate level radioactive wastes (LILW) generated from the NPPs are stored at the on-site radioactive waste storage facilities. Only one research reactor is now in operation: the HANARO reactor at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) located in Daejeon. Its operations commenced in 1995 and it has thermal power of 30 MW. The two research reactors, KRR-1 & 2, located at the former KAERI site in Seoul, were shut down and the reactors and the auxiliary facilities have been decommissioned since 1997. All fuels for the domestic NPPs are being fabricated at Korea Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd. (KNFC) in Daejeon. The radioactive wastes generated in the course of conversion and fabrications are stored at the on-site radioactive waste storage facilities. Also, the number of facilities utilizing radioactive materials in medicine, research work and industry has increased steadily to reach about 2500 as many. These facilities are located wide spread throughout the country and generate various types of radioactive waste. The radioisotope (RI) - contaminated wastes from these facilities are stored in the RI storage facility at Nuclear Environment Technology Institute (NETEC) of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP), in Daejeon. The Korean government has striven to secure the disposal site for safe management of radioactive waste since early 1980s. The 249th meeting of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) held in September 1998, developed “National Radioactive Waste Management Policy” aiming to construct and operate a LILW disposal facility by 2008 and a centralized spent fuel interim-storage facility by 2016; however the site selection had not been successful yet. Therefore, revision of the policy was made at 253rd meeting of AEC held on December 17, 2004, that the construction and operation of LILW disposal facility would be accomplished by 2008, and but the national policy for spent fuel management including construction of the centralized spent fuel interim-storage facility was to be decided in the view of the domestic and international technology development later on.