Rethinking Spent Fuel Management in South Korea
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OCCASIONAL PAPER NO. 16 THE BIGGER PICTURE RETHINKING SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH KOREA Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress, Miles Pomper, Stephanie Lieggi, Charles McCombie, and Neil Chapman JAMES MARTIN CENTER FOR NONPROLIFERATION STUDIES The views, assessments, judgments, and conclusions in this report are the sole representations of the authors and do not necessarily represent either the official position or policy or bear the endorsement of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the Monterey Institute of International Studies, the President and Trustees of Middlebury College, or MCM International. JAMES MARTIN CENTER FOR NONPROLIFERATION STUDIES nonproliferation.org The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) strives to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction by training the next generation of nonproliferation specialists and disseminating timely information and analysis. CNS at the Monterey Institute of International Studies is the largest nongovernmental organization in the United States devoted exclusively to research and training on nonproliferation issues. Monterey Institute of International Studies www.miis.edu The Monterey Institute of International Studies, a graduate school of Middlebury College, provides international professional education in areas of critical importance to a rapidly changing global community, including international policy and management, translation and interpretation, language teaching, sustainable development, and nonproliferation. We prepare students from all over the world to make a meaningful impact in their chosen fields through degree programs characterized by immersive and collaborative learning, and opportunities to acquire and apply practical professional skills. Our students are emerging leaders capable of bridging cultural, organizational, and language divides to produce sustainable, equitable solutions to a variety of global challenges. James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies Monterey Institute of International Studies 460 Pierce St., Monterey, CA 93940, U.S.A. Tel: +1 (831) 647-4154 Fax: +1 (831) 647-3519 ISBN 978-0-9892361-1-9 © The President and Trustees of Middlebury College, March 2013 Cover image: www.istockphoto.com Concrete storage vault for high-level radioactive waste. Name of the building is HABOG, owned by the Dutch company for the management of radioactive waste, COVRA, and is located near Vlissin- gen, Netherlands. The famous Einstein formula, E=mc2, is painted in green. The Bigger Picture: Rethinking Spent Fuel Management in South Korea Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress, Miles A. Pomper, and Stephanie C. Lieggi James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies Charles McCombie and Neil Chapman MCM International, Switzerland February 2013 -1- Table of Contents 1 EXecUTIVE SUmmARY ....................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Short- and Mid-Term Approaches ...........................................................................................10 1.2 Long-term Storage Options ......................................................................................................11 1.3 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................13 2 INTRODUCTion: SOUTH KOREA’S APPROACH TO SPenT FUel .........................15 2.1 General Description of the Back-End of the Fuel Cycle ........................................15 2.2 ROK Nuclear Energy and Accumulation of Spent Nuclear Fuel .......................16 2.3 The Politics of Nuclear Energy and Spent Fuel in ROK...........................................18 2.4 ROK’s Current Nuclear Waste and Spent Fuel Policy ..............................................19 2.5 ROK’s Interest in Reprocessing ...............................................................................................22 2.6 Option of Pyroprocessing and Fast Reactors as the Default Mode ...............23 2.7 Proposed National Alternatives to the Current ROK Spent Fuel Policy ...25 2.8 A Note on National Approach .................................................................................................25 3 SHORT-TERM AND MEDIUM-TERM OPTIONS: STORAGE ..........................................26 3.1 Introduction to Spent Fuel .......................................................................................................26 3.2 Current ROK Policy and Practice........................................................................................26 3.3 What kind of storage – wet or dry: Learning from Past Experience ................27 3.4 Pool Storage ......................................................................................................................................29 3.5 Dry Storage ..........................................................................................................................................30 3.5.1 Technical Design Options for Dry Storage Facilities ...............................................................30 3.5.2 Summary of the relevant design options .....................................................................................31 3.5.3 Security Concerns ...........................................................................................................................32 3.5.4 Centralized vs. distributed storage ...............................................................................................32 3.5.5 Conceptual options for comparison ............................................................................................33 3.6 Export for Interim Storage ......................................................................................................34 3.7 ROK-specific conclusions and recommendations.........................................................35 4 LONG-TERM OPTIONS ......................................................................................................................37 4.1 The Option of Reprocessing and Recycling .....................................................................37 4.1.1 Reusing Plutonium Using Fast Reactors .....................................................................................37 4.1.2 Reusing Plutonium Using LWRs .................................................................................................38 4.1.3 The Shifting Global Politics of Reprocessing .............................................................................38 4.1.4 Current ROK Policy and Practice ................................................................................................39 4.1.5 Advanced Recycling Processes ......................................................................................................40 4.1.6 Policy considerations on Reprocessing and Recycling .............................................................41 4.1.7 Economics of Reprocessing and Recycling ................................................................................42 4.1.8 Energy Security Issues .....................................................................................................................44 4.1.9 Nonproliferation Concerns ...........................................................................................................44 4.1.10 Environmental and Health Effects ..............................................................................................46 4.1.11 Sustainability ....................................................................................................................................47 4.1.11 Summary of Arguments for and against Reprocessing ............................................................47 4.1.12 ROK-Specific Conclusions and Recommendations on Reprocessing of Fuel ...................48 4.2 Partition and Transmutation ...............................................................................................50 -2- 4.2.1 Introduction to Partitioning and Transmutation ......................................................................50 4.4.2 Status of Partitioning and Transmutation as a Waste Management Approach ...................51 4.4.3. ROK-Specific Recommendations on Transmutation of Fuel .................................................54 4.3 Storage as a long-term option .............................................................................................52 4.3.1 Technical Issues Related to Extended Storage ..............................................................................52 4.3.2 Policy Issues .......................................................................................................................................58 4.3.3 Security Concerns ...........................................................................................................................60 4.3.4 ROK-Specific Recommendations on Extended Storage .........................................................61 4.4 Geological Disposal ...................................................................................................................62 4.4.1 Current ROK Policy and Practice .................................................................................................63 4.4.2 GDF Concept Selection ..................................................................................................................63 4.4.3 Deciding If and When to Dispose of SNF ................................................................................64