[ChamTrue?] Conflict Over Nuclear Waste Disposal Facilities... Can 'Disposal Technology' Provide a Solution?

Residents Opposing Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility... Court: "Temporary Facility for Time-Limited Storage"
Pyroprocessing Specified in Ruling Still Under Development... Further Research Needed
Overseas Also Store Within Nuclear Plants... Permanent Storage Underground on Olkiluoto Island, Finland Starting This Year

On the 2nd, members of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movements held a performance at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, urging opposition to the additional construction of a temporary storage facility for nuclear waste at the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Nuclear power generation leaves behind 'radioactive waste.' Among these, spent nuclear fuel is high-level waste with a high radioactivity content. The storage facilities themselves are perceived as 'disgusting facilities,' leading to social conflicts. Ahead of the 20th presidential election, each candidate has announced their own nuclear power policies, but there are criticisms that the issue of spent nuclear fuel disposal is not being discussed.

Among them, a candidate opposing the nuclear phase-out policy mentioned the 'pyroprocessing' technology at a presidential debate, claiming that related technology can solve the problem. Pyroprocessing is called a dream technology that separates recyclable nuclear fuel and waste from spent nuclear fuel for reuse.

Administrative lawsuit opposing 'spent nuclear fuel storage facility'... First trial: "Pyroprocessing research underway"

As of June last year, South Korea is storing 22,804,405 units of spent nuclear fuel at nuclear power plants. Out of 516,679 bundles, 501,519 bundles are stored. This means 97.1% of the total capacity is practically saturated. Unlike low- and intermediate-level waste such as gloves and rags used in nuclear power plants, which have negligible radioactivity, spent nuclear fuel has a high level of radioactive contamination, making its disposal complicated. There is also no clear national policy established regarding the disposal or recycling of spent nuclear fuel.

This is why residents near nuclear power plants find it difficult to welcome the construction of additional spent nuclear fuel storage facilities within the nuclear power plant sites. Currently, an administrative appeal trial is underway at the Seoul High Court, filed by civic groups and residents near the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant opposing the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission's approval of the construction of spent nuclear fuel storage facilities for Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 to 4.

The Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 4 (Chief Judge Han Won-kyo), which heard the first trial last year, did not accept the residents' claims. The reason was that there was no 'disposal decision' by the authorities, so it was not considered radioactive waste. It also stated, "(The facility in question) is a temporary facility for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, so it cannot be considered a 'spent nuclear fuel-related facility' under Article 18 of the Act on the Promotion of the Location of Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities."

The first trial court also mentioned that research on recycling spent nuclear fuel using 'pyroprocessing' technology is underway through the new Korea-US nuclear cooperation agreement that came into effect in November 2015.

Technology under research for 10 years... "Cannot alleviate residents' anxiety"

However, pyroprocessing technology has not produced clear research results that can alleviate residents' anxiety or be cited in court rulings. In September last year, the Ministry of Science and ICT released a report on the Korea-US Joint Fuel Cycle Study (JFCS) results.

However, it did not clarify the technical or economic feasibility of pyroprocessing technology. It only reiterated the need for further research. Despite 10 years of research, no significant results have been achieved.

Overseas, countries are also struggling because spent nuclear fuel is stored within nuclear power plants. Starting this year, Finland began burying spent nuclear fuel at a site outside the nuclear power plant. The permanent disposal facility 'Onkalo,' located underground on Olkiluoto Island in the Bay of Bothnia, can permanently store 3,250 canisters containing spent nuclear fuel. This is about ten times the capacity of the Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant.

However, persuading residents was not easy there either. Finland began site investigations in 1983, and it took 17 years just to select the final candidate site. Additionally, although the storage period was set at 100,000 years, since this is a facility that has never been attempted before, the outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

Ultimately, voices claiming that the spent nuclear fuel disposal problem will be solved on the premise that related technology will be developed inevitably lack persuasiveness.

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