Korea urged to secure more nuclear waste disposal sites

• Published date: 28 February 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Korea should promptly outline plans to build a greater number of nuclear waste disposal facilities, in an immediate measure to fortify radioactive waste management capabilities, experts said Monday.

Propelling the urgent recommendation is the earlier-than-expected saturation of local radioactive waste storage, brought on in large part by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's fostering of the previously demonized source of energy, which is more affordable and stable compared to renewables.

The country may not be able to operate nuclear reactors as early as 2030, they say, since storage facilities will be full by then. This is why experts are pushing for the construction of on-site storage sites at nuclear reactors, as soon as possible, because it takes at least seven years to help guarantee the safe construction and operation of these types of sites.

The government first began commercial operation of a nuclear reactor in 1978, and nine attempts to select disposal sites have since failed.

Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province was selected as a site in 2005 to store mid- and low-level radioactive waste. But the high-stakes decision to choose a site for the high-level waste has been pushed back indefinitely since 2009, when government efforts to seek public consensus through hearings and discussions were met by the fierce protests of local residents.

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"The key is in the pending bill at the National Assembly," said Lee Jong-ho, a senior researcher at the Nuclear Research Institute for Future Technology Policy (NIFTEP) associated with Seoul National University.

He is the former head of Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power's (KHNP) technology and engineering...