[Report] Radiation Levels at 'Zero'... Visiting the 130m Underground 'K-Bangpyejang'

Gyeongju Intermediate and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility... Asia's First Cave-Type Disposal Site
Located 80-130m Underground... Capable of Disposing 100,000 Waste Drums
Internal Radiation Level 0.1μSv per Year... Equivalent to One X-Ray Scan
Permanent Closure Enhances Safety... Double Sealed with Crushed Stone and Concrete
Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy: "High-Level Disposal Facility Is Our Generation's Duty... Special Law Will Be Established"

A cave-type radioactive waste disposal silo located in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk. One silo, 130 meters underground, can accommodate 16,500 drums of 200 liters of radioactive waste.
[Photo by Joonhyung Lee]

[Asia Economy Gyeongju=Reporter Lee Junhyung] 95 meters underground.

This is the depth of the entrance to the cave-type radioactive waste disposal facility (RWDF) located in Gyeongju City, Gyeongbuk Province. To enter the Gyeongju cave-type RWDF, one must travel about 1.4 km through an underground tunnel by vehicle from the surface. It took about 10 minutes for the vehicle, moving at a reduced speed, to pass through the tunnel with a 10-degree slope and arrive at the RWDF entrance. After putting on safety gear such as protective suits and helmets and opening the thick steel door, the country's only cave-type RWDF comes into view.

The Gyeongju RWDF is Asia's first cave-type radioactive waste disposal facility, with an investment of 1.5436 trillion KRW. Construction began in November 2007 and was completed in December 2014. It is a facility that permanently stores intermediate- and low-level radioactive waste, such as radiation shielding suits, in bedrock located 80 to 130 meters underground, serving as a kind of "nuclear power plant restroom."

A representative from the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency is explaining about the radioactive waste stored in the silo at the Gyeongju underground radioactive waste disposal facility (Bangpaejang).
[Photo by Lee Junhyung]

Capable of disposing 100,000 drums... Internal radiation levels 'zero'

The storage area for radioactive waste consists of six large silos. The No. 1 silo that the reporter visited was filled with rectangular concrete containers stacked with drums of radioactive waste from the floor at a depth of 130 meters underground. The silo, which is 50 meters high, can accommodate 16,500 drums of 200 liters each. The Gyeongju RWDF, equipped with six silos, can hold about 100,000 drums of radioactive waste.

A significant amount of waste has already been disposed of. As of the 26th, 25,578 drums of radioactive waste have been permanently disposed of at the Gyeongju RWDF. This year alone, 1,200 drums of radioactive waste have been disposed of. Since the RWDF began full operation in 2015, about one-quarter of the total capacity has been filled over approximately eight years. An additional 1,504 drums are scheduled to be disposed of within the year.

Despite the considerable volume of disposed waste, the internal radiation levels were virtually "zero." The reporter was provided with a radiation dosimeter, one of the personal safety devices, to check exposure levels. The dosimeter consistently recorded 0.00 μSv (microsieverts, a unit of radiation dose) per hour while near the silo. According to the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency, the actual radiation dose inside the RWDF is managed to remain below 0.1 μSv annually. This is equivalent to the radiation exposure from a single X-ray. Radiation levels near the RWDF are managed to stay below 0.01 μSv annually.

Radiation levels measured with a radiation dosimeter inside the Gyeongju cave-type radioactive waste disposal facility (RWDF). The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency manages the radiation dose inside the RWDF to be below 0.1 μSv per year.
[Photo by Joonhyung Lee]

Sealed with crushed stone and concrete... Groundbreaking for low-level RWDF

The method of permanently sealing the silos also enhances safety. When a silo is filled with 16,500 drums of radioactive waste, crushed stone and concrete are poured into the 15-meter-high upper dome to seal it. The silo walls are made of 1.2-meter-thick concrete, and crushed stone and concrete are additionally poured between disposal containers, meaning the waste is stored in triple layers. A Korea Radioactive Waste Agency official explained, "Overseas, silos are sealed with crushed stone only, but the Gyeongju RWDF uses double sealing with crushed stone and concrete to enhance safety."

The low-level RWDF recently broke ground as well. Unlike the cave-type RWDF, this facility can only dispose of low-level or lower radioactive waste such as gloves used at nuclear power plants. On the 26th, the government held a groundbreaking ceremony for the surface disposal facility for radioactive waste in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk Province. As the country's first low-level RWDF, it can dispose of 125,000 drums of 200 liters each. The government plans to invest 262.1 billion KRW from this year through 2024 to establish a low-level RWDF capable of withstanding a magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

The government is also accelerating the construction of a disposal facility capable of handling high-level radioactive waste such as spent nuclear fuel. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to propose a special law through legislative action within the year to establish the legal basis for a high-level RWDF. Minister Lee Chang-yang of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "Solving the high-level radioactive waste issue is the duty and responsibility of the current generation benefiting from nuclear power," adding, "Securing a disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste is an urgent task that can no longer be postponed."

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