Wolseong Low- and Intermediate-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Center
South Korea's nuclear power program is fully integrated into the national infrastructure, supplying 30% of its electricity and 8.6% of its total energy usage.
Gyeongju, located in a sediment-filled basin within the extreme southeast corner of the North Gyeongsang province of South Korea, boasts a population of 269,343 people as of 2008.
The area designated for the disposal facility sits within the Gyeongju Basin, which is built mainly of sediments intruded by plutonic rocks.
[3] The disposal facility sits above an area composed primarily of granodiorite; to the north, a small portion is underlain by biotite granite.
LILW is categorized as having less than 4,000 Bq/g of alpha-particle emitting nuclides with a half-live for more than 20 years; additionally, the body's heat generation must be below 2 kW/m.
[3] Data collected during the site characterization were used for an assessment of long-term performance-based partly on Hydrogeological and Geochemical characteristics and groundwater flow modeling.
This was in favor of selecting the site for a storage facility, as lower permeability is correlated to slower movement of groundwater and minerals.
The local population approved the site due to increased incentives: the prospect of jobs, the promise of an initial payment of 300 billion Won ($270 million) with additional payments of 637,500 Won per waste drum, and the relocation to the city hosting the silo site of the headquarters of Korean Hydro and Nuclear Power.
[8] Additionally, the general public was troubled by past siting attempts, which were by their very nature undemocratic, lacked disclosure of information, and employed oppressive countermeasures against locals.
[8] These events promoted public skepticism towards the governmental expression of urgency over the need for a disposal site and gave opposing parties fuel against the use of nuclear energy.
[8] In addition, tours of facilities were conducted in an effort to widen the scope of the public and gain acceptance of nuclear programs.
[3] Designs were drawn for a LILW facility as early as 1993, with an ideal plan detailing five interconnected disposal caverns holding either ILRW or LLRW.
[6] Transport of nuclear waste will be done by ship ‘HJ’, which has a carrying capacity of 1520 drums; shipments will be made in groups of 1000.
[6] The concrete lining surrounding the disposal site will slowly increase its permeability over time due to degradation.
However, attack by chlorides on the steel has determined to be 4.3*10^-2 cm/year, resulting in complete degradation after 1400 years; these values are hardly negligible and represent warnings of the possibility of leaching of radionuclides due to a weakened barrier.
[3] Alteration minerals demonstrate the presence of actively circulating waters, and the region presents the potential of moving radioactive elements from a leak at a rate of at least 1/5-meter per day during periods of groundwater flow.
Safety assessment of radionuclide leak through several scenarios satisfied regulatory criteria[3] The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST) contains both KAERI and KINS under it.
The Korean Atomic Energy Commission (KAEC) is the highest order policy-making body on nuclear matters.
