Nuclear Waste Treatment Facility
Project Goes Smoothly

Soon to be determined what type of treatment method the planned facility will adopt

An advisory committee has begun to discuss how to treat a low- and intermediate-grade radioactive waste at the planned nuclear waste facility in Gyeongju.
A committee on the selection of nuclear waste treatment method, held by Prof. Hwang Ju-ho, of Kyunghee University, was formed on April 4 to determine which is better a near-surface disposal method or an underground one.
The 16-member committee comprises of the technical subcommittee, head by Prof. Hwang, and social environment subcommittee, headed by Choi Yong-hwan, head of the Gyeongju Antinuclear Activist Coalition. The committee members include three councilors of Gyeongju City Council, three NGOs recommended by the city government and 10 civilian experts.
Lee Won-gul, vice minister for energy at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, told reporters on April 7 that "the nuclear waste treatment facility construction project at Bonggilri, Gyeongju City, is being pushed as originally planned."MOCIE Vice Minister Lee's comment came at a time when a possibility was raised that cultural properties might have been existed in the affected area of the planned nuclear waste treatment facility site.
MOCIE said the project will break ground in the second half of this year, and Phase I Project is to be completed by the end of 2009 with a capacity of treating 100,000 drums of nuclear waste. The ministry is seeking to partially utilize the nuclear waste treatment facility to cope with a shortage of nuclear waste treatment space as the temporary storage facility at the Ulchin Nuclear Power Complex is to fall short of space in the late 2008.
The ministry said the selection of nuclear waste treatment method will be determined in a fair and transparent fashion in the first half of this year.
The selection committee for the nuclear waste treatment method will decide whether the planned nuclear waste treatment facility will adopt a near-surface disposal method or an underground one, considering such factors as safety,
environmental-friendliness and economic aspects after screening technical surveys by domestic and foreign technical institutions. KOPTEC, S&R of Finland and Initec of Spain have been commissioned to conduct technical inspections on the issue.
MOCIE said it is working hard to implement without a hitch projects supporting Gyeongju City where the planned nuclear waste treatment facility is to be built. The Gyeongju municipal government has legislated a special ordinance on the operation of 300 billion won in special support funds it will receive from the central government for attracting the planned nuclear facility. The ministry is now negotiating with the municipal government as to the payment method of the fund.
The ministry said it will finalize a plan to relocate the Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) headquarters in Seoul by the end of August. The relocation project is to break ground in the second half of next year with dedication slated for the late 2010.
Last November 3, Gyeongju, which had a voter turnout of 70.8 percent and the highest approval rate of 89.5 percent in the previous day's referendum, was declared the official nuclear waste facility site after beating other candidate cities, Gunsan, Yeongdeok and Pohang.
Gyeongju is considered to be a backward city with tarnish on its old luster as the 1000 year-old seat of Silla Kingdom during the three kingdoms period. Awarding Gyeongju with the projected nuclear waste site would bring about a tremendous windfall to the city. Estimates released by the North Gyeongsang Provincial government showed that the economic spillover effects the selection of the nuclear waste site would bring about 3.6 trillion won -- 3.39 trillion won in production inducement effects and 246 billion win in vale added effects -- on top of the effect of employing approximately 29,000 people.
A cash reward of 300 billion won is to be offered to the local administrative body of which the successful bidder along with revenues stemming from fees for depositing nuclear waste, which are estimated at 8.5 billion per annum.
The projected operation of the nuclear waste dump site for 60 years is expected to amount to about 500 billion won. The relocation of the KHNP head office will likely contribute to raising local taxes of the local autonomous body by 4.2 billion won annually.
Another major incentive for the successful nuclear waste storage facility site city is about the construction of a proton linear accelerator within the precincts of the relevant province of the planned site. The Ministry of Science and Technology will consult with the governor of the relevant province to decide on whether a proton linear accelerator, being pushed under MOST's Proton Engineering Frontier Project (PEFP), is located.
The projected radioactive waste site will be located at an area covering 1.9 million sq. meters (600,000 pyeong) at Bonggil-ri, Yangbuk-myeon, Gyeongju City. The mountainous area, about 30 km away from downtown Gyeongju, had been already considered as one of the most suitable candidate sites given the outcome of geological and safety checks before the government determined the final bidder. The site area near the East Coast has a good transportation approach due to the adjacent National Road No. 31. The site area has four nuclear power plants in operation since Wolsung Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 was dedicated in April 1983. The Sin-Wolsung Nuclear Plant Units 1 & 2, now under construction, will be completed by March 2012.
The government's nearly two decade-long effort to build a nuclear waste storage ended in failure, repeatedly mainly due to the prevailing not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) syndrome. In particular, the latest so-called Buan Incident in 2003 apparently provided a bitter lesson as the government's moves to push a projected nuclear waste site on Anmyeon-do Island on the West Coast touched off violent, months-long clashes between nearby residents and antinuclear activists and public forces.
With the latest Buan Incident in mind, the government has exerted itself to find a solution in a more transparent and democratic manner, as the temporary space for keeping nuclear waste is running short, particularly low- and mid-degree radiation waste.
A special law was legislated to specify the coverage scope of a new nuclear waste storage facility to low- and mid-grade waste, not spent nuclear fuel, a move designed to wipe out misgivings about safety.
The Radioactive Nuclear Waste Disposal Facility Site Selection Committee was formed to select a nuclear waste storage site in a transparent and fair manner.
The special law requires residents' consent through voting as the prerequisite condition of becoming the planned nuclear waste storage site. Disclosure of information in connection with holding debates and explanation sessions is stipulated in the law.
The nation still has another issue -- construction of high-grade radioactive waste treatment site -- that has to be addressed and handled. nw

KHNP President-CEO Lee Joong-jae

An artist conception shows the planned low-and intermediate-grade radioactive waste site (at center) in Bonggil-ri, Yangbuk-myeon, Gyeongju City (above photo) KAERI President Park Chang-kue explains the treatment of radioactive waste during Nuclear R&D Festival 2006.