The 13th International Conference on Environmental ... - Events

Abstracts
and became the hosting city of LILW repository site.
After the vote, on January 2, 2006, the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy (MKE) designated Bonggil-ri,
Yangbuk-myeon, Gyeongju-city, North Gyeongsang Province (approximately 2,100,000 m2) as the LILW repository site.
<strong>The</strong> first stage Wolsong disposal facility construction will be completed by December 2012 as underground silos type
with a disposal capacity of 100,000 drums.
Spent nuclear fuels generated from nuclear power plants are stored at reactor sites pending construction of an
interim storage facility or final repository. <strong>The</strong> cumulative amount of spent fuel is about 10,761 tons as of Dec. 2009, and
is expected to increase up to 20,000 tons by 2020. <strong>The</strong> existing storage capacity as of Dec. 2009 is 13,532 tons.
National policy for spent nuclear fuel management shall be decided in a timely manner through public participation
process taking into consideration of current international trends and technology development. KRMC launched the spent
fuel management alternative study and establishment of road map in Dec. 2009 to promote expert group’s consensus and
for the public involvement in the future which is approaching imminently.
“Radioactive waste management – achievements, needs and future expectations”
Irena Mele, Head of Waste Technology Section, Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology, IAEA
<strong>International</strong> nuclear community is facing a period of dynamic changes. <strong>The</strong> growing interest for nuclear energy
brings new optimism to the community but also new challenges and increased responsibilities. Radioactive waste
management remains on the agenda even in most developed nuclear countries. Although significant progress has been
achieved in this area and many disposal solutions for different types of waste have been successfully implemented
worldwide, unresolved disposal of HLW and spent nuclear fuel remains the major concern of the public related to the use
of nuclear energy and may become an obstacle for the planned expansion of their nuclear programmes. <strong>The</strong>re are also
countries that are still missing necessary radioactive waste management infrastructure and, thus, capacity and capability
to safely manage their low level and intermediate level radioactive waste. In spite of well developed and available waste
management technologies and good practices many our Members States are still meeting great deficiency in radioactive
waste management infrastructure and need strong support and assistance to develop adequate level for safe and efficient
management of their radioactive waste. In particular countries with only institutional waste experience great difficulties
in providing waste management facilities due to the lack of capacity and expertise.
Many new countries have also expressed their interest and intention to embark on nuclear energy. When planning
and preparing for new nuclear build, major attention is given to the construction and operation of nuclear power plant and
infrastructure building. Much less attention of those countries and also nuclear industry is given to the fact that in parallel
with the NPP the radioactive waste management infrastructure needs to be developed as well. A big challenge is to
increase awareness among those countries and also among nuclear industry on burning need to include also preparations
for spent fuel and radioactive waste management in early planning process.
Decommissioning of nuclear facilities has become a mature technology and planning for decommissioning and
implementing a decommissioning plan is commonly accepted practice in most of nuclear countries. However, additional
encouragement and support is still needed in countries with less experience and smaller programmes. Another
important issue is cleaning-up of sites with legacy waste emanating from past research, medical or military activities.
Important legacies from earlier uranium mining are known in many parts of the world. Remediation of land contaminated
by radioactive material residues is needed in many countries, like in the Central Asian republics, where the remedial
challenges will require a consolidated international support approach.
<strong>The</strong> paper will provide an overview of current situation and future prospects in all these areas of radioactive waste
management, decommissioning and environmental remediation and highlight the role and efforts of the IAEA to ensure
that adequate safety standards in this area are applied worldwide, that experiences and good practices gained in
radioactive waste management area are shared and communicated between the countries and potential users, and that
proper assistance is provided to countries considering nuclear power.
SESSION L1: Waste Management
1) 40081 – Radioactive Waste: Feedback of 40-year Operations in France
Michel Dutzer, Gérald Ouzounian, Roberto Miguez, Jean-Louis Tison, Andra (France)
France's experience in the management of radioactive waste is supported by forty years of operational activities in
the field of surface disposal. This feedback is related to three disposal facilities:
- Centre de la Manche disposal, not far away Cherbourg, from design to post-closure facility,
- Centre at Soulaines-Dhuys from site selection to design to operation during nearly 20 years,
- Centre at Morvilliers from site selection to operation for seven years now.
During the operational period of Centre de la Manche disposal facility (1969-1994), the safety concept for low-and
intermediate level short lived waste (LIL-SLW) was developed and progressively incorporated in the procedures of the
facility. <strong>The</strong> facility entered its institutional control period and the experience of this facility has been useful for the
operating facilities.
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