In response to your request, and as a follow-up to the ACNW Working Group meeting with you and your staff on June 17, 1992, we offer the following comments on the Early Site Suitability Evaluation (ESSE) for the proposed Yucca Mountain high-level waste repository site. Our comments relate both to the ESSE, as prepared by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and to the draft review prepared by your staff.

This white paper offers some suggestions about how to improve the process in the United States for developing facilities for geologic disposal of used nuclear reactor fuel and high-level radioactive waste. These suggestions look toward the future, and build on what I believe are the lessons that should be learned from the troubled Yucca Mountain repository project.

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.