The completion of the first phase of the Low and Intermediate Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in Gyeongju has been designated as a “good practice” during the Fifth Review Meeting of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, which concluded at the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna on May 22.
Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) said the designation of the Gyeongju radwaste facility as a good practice during the Fifth Review Meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) contributed greatly to enhancing Korea’s global standing in the safety management of radwaste.
KORAD President Lee Jong-in made a presentation on the first phase of an underground silo disposal facility, operation plan, a plan to construct the second phase surface disposal facility, and the process of the public debate on spent nuclear fuel.
While delivering a national report on Korea, 17 signatory countries, including Canada, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Denmark and Uruguay, held a Q&A session on the convention’s obligations. The introduction of a system of selecting a radwaste facility site designed to improve public acceptance and the completion of the low- and intermediate-level radwaste treatment facility was selected as a good practice that is applicable to other nations.
“Korea’s radwaste facility can be confirmed as one of global standards,” KORAD President Lee said. He added that KORAD will ensure the safety and transparency of the facility based on diverse good practices of other countries that were explored during the Fifth Review Meeting.
In force since 2001, the Joint Convention seeks to achieve and maintain a high level of worldwide safety in spent fuel and radioactive waste management. Korea joined the convention in 2002. Sixty-nine countries are signatories of the Convention, including the United States, Japan, Germany, Sweden and France.
Signatories are required to observe the obligations of the Convention, and they have to submit national reports every three years to be examined by Review Meetings. In Korea, the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission submits a national report to IAEA.
KORAD’s MOU with KIGMA
KORAD singed an MOU on the cooperation in surface radwaste disposal with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGMA) at the Gyeongju radwaste disposal facility on June 9.
Under the agreement, the two institutions have agreed to collaborate in survey, evaluation of surface radwaste disposal, technology data exchanges, convergence, cooperation and new projects on radwaste disposal and exploration of foreign markets.
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