Nuclear Decommissioning Technology to Be Demonstrated at Chernobyl

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and the Ukrainian state government agency (SAUEZM) remotely signed a memorandum of understanding for the demonstration of core nuclear power plant decommissioning technologies.

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] Next year, demonstration of South Korea's nuclear power plant decommissioning technology will take place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) announced on the 15th that it has signed a remote Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ukrainian state government agency (SAUEZM) to verify core technologies for nuclear power plant decommissioning.

Through this, KAERI will conduct technology demonstrations starting next year on radioactive concrete treatment technology and radioactive contaminated metal equipment decontamination technology. The radioactive concrete treatment technology separates and processes concrete waste generated after nuclear facility decommissioning into aggregate and cement by applying high heat and physical force. Since most radioactive materials are contained in the cement, this separation process can reduce the amount of radioactive waste by more than 50%.

The radioactive contaminated metal equipment decontamination technology removes radioactive materials by spraying foam decontaminants over large areas of buildings or large equipment. The use of decontamination liquid can be reduced to one-tenth of the usual amount.

In addition, technologies for radioactive waste treatment, on-site measurement, wide-area contaminated soil treatment, and residential area contamination restoration will also be demonstrated.

For safe nuclear power plant decommissioning, prior technology verification and small-scale decommissioning work are essential. However, since nuclear facilities requiring decommissioning are limited to a few countries, verification is not easy. KAERI expects that this on-site demonstration will greatly contribute to the commercialization of domestically developed decommissioning technologies.

Park Won-seok, President of KAERI, said, "We will be able to share technology and know-how with Ukraine, which has extensive field experience in nuclear power plant decommissioning," adding, "We will enhance our technological capabilities to enter not only the domestic but also the overseas nuclear power plant decommissioning markets."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.