NEWSLETTER
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Nov. 2003

No.11
Issued by
Japan Atomic
Industrial Forum, Inc.

Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management• Sub-meeting (1)Disposal of LILW including waste acceptancecriteria• Sub-meeting (2)Management of wastes arising from decommissioning of small to medium scale nuclear facilities
Wednesday, December 17
The 3rd day of the workshop• Technical Visit for Serpong site of BATAN
Thursday, December 18
The 4th day of the workshop• Roundtable Discussion (2)Interim Reporting of TENORM Task
• Round Table Discussion (3)Review, Modification on 3-year Plan
Friday, December 19
The final day of the workshop• Closing Session
Discussion on Minutes

The FNCA 2003 Workshop on RWM
to be held in Jakarta in December
2003
The FNCA 2003 Workshop on Radioactive Waste
Management (RWM) is scheduled to be held between
December 15 to 19, and includes a technical visit for
BATAN’s Serpong Site.
The workshop will be hosted by the National Nuclear
Energy Agency (BATAN) of Indonesia as the local hostorganization, and the Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, in
cooperation with Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc.
(JAIF).
In the upcoming workshop, each representative of
FNCA countries will report on latest topics relating to
RWM issues as per country reports. Following thecountry reports, round table discussions will be held on
issues involving Correspondence to International Trend
Including ICRP, and Joint Convention on Safety of
Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Management,Interim Reporting of TENORM Task, and the 3-year
work plan of FNCA RWM.
TENORM: Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring
Radioactive Materials

The Persons in Charge of Local
Secretariat for the Workshop

Sub-meetings will be held focusing on the “Disposalof LILW including waste acceptance criteria”,“Management of Waste arising from decommissioningof small to medium scale nuclear facilities”.

Dr. Asmedi Suripto
FNCA RWM Project Leader of Indonesia
Director, Center for Development ofRadioactive Waste Management
National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN)

Overall Schedule
Dr. Djarot Sulistio Wisnubroto

Sunday, December 14
Arrival of overseas participants at Jakarta City
Monday, December 15
The 1st day of the workshop• Country Report
Tuesday, December 16
The 2nd day of the workshop• Round table discussion (1)Correspondence to International Trend Including
ICRP, and Joint Convention on Safety of Spent

Center for Development of Radioactive
Waste Management, BATAN

Mr. Gangsar
Center for Development of Radioactive
Waste Management, BATAN

1NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

cept of “work activity” was introduced and the 300
mSv/yr of dose criteria was set instead of 10 mSv/yr for“practice”. In the Japanese discussions, the direct
application of the BSS exemption level to NORM is not
appropriate and it is better to use the intervention
exemption concept, which was introduced in ICRP
publ.82.
In international movements related to NORM/TENORM situations, the Radioactive Waste Management group in FNCA organized a TENORM subgroupfor discussion/survey of NORM/TENORM problems.
The TENORM discussion meetings were held at
Australia in February 2003 and in Malaysia and Viet
Nam in August 2003. Further meetings are planned tobe held in China and Thailand in 2004.

Overview of TENORM
Issues(Left)

Prof. Toshiso KOSAKOFNCA RWM Project Leader ofJapan
Associate Professor, Engineering
Research Center for Nuclear
Science and Technology,
The University of Tokyo(Right)Dr. Nobuyuki SUGIURA
Research Associate, Medical
ScienceResearch Center for Nuclear
Science and Technology,
The University of Tokyoat Putrajaya, Malaysia

The natural background radiation had been out of
the framework of radiological protection because of its
natural occurrence. Some of technologically enhanced
naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM),
such as radon and monazite sand, gradually became atarget for radiological protection. In ICRP publ.60(1990), the following four natural sources were listed aspart of occupational exposure:a) operations in workplaces where the radon concentration is high,b) operations with materials that contain significant
traces of natural radionuclides,c) operation of jet craft, andd) space flight.
All of the above were considered to be controlledfrom the viewpoint of amenable to control.
The United Nations Scientific Committee on the
Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) has accumulated a large amount of data on NORM/TENORM
issues in a world-wide scale over a long period of time.
It was reported in UNSCEAR 2000 that the public
exposure could be enhanced by NORM, such as phosphate acid processing, treatment of mineral ore, uranium mining, zircon sand, production of titanium pigment, fossil fuel, oil and its extraction, building materialand so on.
On the other hand, the IAEA published the Basic
Safety Standard (BSS) in 1996 incorporated with theradiological protection principle of ICRP publ.60. In the
BSS, the exemption levels for each radionuclide were
proposed including natural radionuclides. Discussion
for the introduction of BSS exemption levels into theregulatory system has commenced mainly in Europe
and Japan. In the European discussion, the new con-

Summary of AustraliaJapan TENORM Meetingin Australia
Mr. Lubi Dimitrovski
FNCA RWM Project Leader of Australia
Head
Waste Operations & Technology Development
Nuclear Technology
Australian Nuclear Science & Technology
Organisation (ANSTO)

During the recent Radioactive Waste Management(RWM) FNCA 2002 Workshop held in Daejeon in
November 2002 a draft 3-Year Work Plan was prepared. The plan proposed that the RWM Task Groupwould focus on NORM waste issues over the next 2
years (2003/2004). Resulting from this a Task Groupon TENORM waste from Japan visited Australia
between 10-14 February 2003. The task group fromJapan consisted of Prof. Toshiso Kosako (Japan
Project Leader, RWM, The University of Tokyo; Prof.
Takao Iida, Nagoya University; Dr, Hirokuni Yamanisi,
National Institute of Fission Science, Dr. Takeshi Iimotoand Dr. Nobuyiki Sugiura, The University of Tokyo.
The task group, sponsored by MEXT, held preliminary discussions with a number of technical experts
in Australia including representatives from ANSTO, the
New South Wales Environment Protection Agency andfollowed up with a visit to the large mining operationsite at the Roxby Downs, Olympic Dam Project inSouth Australia
The opening session was held at ANSTO and thedelegates from Japan were welcomed by Professor
Henderson-Sellers, Director of ANSTO Environment.
2NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

Presentations by ANSTO scientists and from the Task
Group delegates were carried out during the first day.

followed on:• exemption levels for NORM wastes• waste issues arising from uranium mining• the use of phosphate rock is fertiliser production andconsumer goods• radon in terms of Technology Enhanced Natural
Radiation.
The presentations were followed by technical discussions and a tour of the ANSTO Waste Management
facilities.
On the following day the Task Group attended ameeting with NSW EPA representatives for discussions
on NORM occurrences. Discussions focussed on rehabilitation of mineral sand mining sites, rehabilitationof an old radium refinery, assessments of Po-210 and
Pb-210 in smelter/sinter plant dusts, occurrences inrefractory bricks, ceramic insulators, glazed products,
zircon abrasives and radionuclides in coal washeryscales. Discussions also focussed on regulatory issues
including the need to approve/formalise disposal andrecycle options and the need to decide on regulatory
requirements for the higher-activity scales and sludges.
The Task Group then travelled to Melbourne for further discussions on NORM issues with officers from theAustralian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety
Agency (ARPANSA) Health Branch.
A visit to the Roxby Down.s, Olympic Dam Projectsite was made on Thursday 13th February. The site
visit provided an insight into operational control issues
relating to NORM on a large mining site, the regulatory
controls that are required and the deportment of theradionuclides in smelter dusts.
The visit of the Task Group to Australia provide an
opportunity to address common NORM/TENORM
related concerns and issues and provided a valuable
forum for an exchange of information.

Discussion Panel
Australia (on left)
Doug Collier
Dr John Harries
Brian Holland
Dr Wlodek Zahorowski
Lubi Dimitrovski

Japan (on right)
Prof. Toshiso KOSAKODr Nobuyuki SUGIURA
Prof. Takao IIDA
Dr. Takeshi IIMOTO
Dr. Hirokuni YAMANISHI

Presentations from ANSTO included:• an update on NORM in the Mining Industry which
addressed recent ANSTO involvement with the
IAEA on NORM, the implementation of BSS 115
since 1996 and a review of the Draft Safety
Standard 161 – “Radionuclide content in commodities not requiring regulation for purposes of radiation
protection”• a summary of NORM issues relevant to theAustralian Mining Industry• an overview of the radon issues in TENORM• international regulations existing in the NORM industry and wastes• disposal of radioactive materials
Presentations were also made by the Japanese
Task Group delegates and included an opening
address on the aim of the visit and the intensions andframes of reference of the FNCA. Presentations also
Olympic Dam Uranium Mining and Processing Site

Crusher and Separator

Bird’s-Eye View of Processing Site

3

Copper Refinement Facility

NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENTMINT who welcomed the delegates and expressed his
wishes to see the beneficial outputs for both countries
as a result of this meeting. Presentations from bothsides of the delegation on TENORM issues followed
after the opening sessions. In the afternoon the delegates were able to visit MINT’s waste management
facilities.
Members of the group had also the opportunity to visit
the new AELB’s headquarters, located adjacent to
MINTechpark. The delegations were received by Dr.
Rehir Dahlan, the Director General of AELB.
Discussions held there were mainly on regulatory issues.
In the following day, members of the group visited
ARE company, a mineral processing industry situatedin Ipoh, some 300 km away to the north of Kuala
Lumpur. During the visit, the delegates were briefed,
discussed and also visited several facilities belonging
to the company. One of the most important facilities
was the Long Term Storage Facility which currently
stored majority of TENORM waste in Malaysia. The
ARE company had ceased operation since 1994 andnow is in the process of decommissioning the contaminated plants.
Whilst the delegates were in Ipoh, they had also an
opportunity to visit another factory, the TOR Minerals
which was situated about hundreds meters away fromthe ARE. The company processed ilmenite to obtaintitanium oxides, and the extraction process also generated TENORM by-products of a different in nature. All
discussions and visits had definitely increased theunderstanding among members of the delegation overthe issues raised throughout the discussions.
During the exit meeting, both countries expressed theirsatisfaction and mutually agreed on two recommendations i.e. to strengthen the linkages of the regulatory bodywith relevant national agencies on radioactive waste
management, and secondly on the exchange information
as well as providing technical supports to concur withICRP and IAEA documents.

TENORM Task Group
Discussion/Survey Meeting
Dr. Syed Abdul Malik
FNCA RWM Project Leader of Malaysia
Manager
Radioactive Waste Management Centre (RWMC)
Technical Services Division
Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology
Research (MINT)TENORM Management Task Group launched its firstactivity of JFY2003 by holding a Malaysia-JapanTENORM Discussion/Survey Meeting. The meeting was
mainly held at MINT, Kuala Lumpur from August 4 –8,
2003. The Discussion/Survey attempted to highlight
TENORM issues which were of concern by some countries in the region, as well finding lasting solutions to theissues.
Delegates involving in oneof the Discussion at MINT

Site visit to the plantundergoing dismantling

The Japanese delegation was led by Prof. Toshiso
Kosako and comprised of Dr. Nobuyuki Sugiura, Mr.
Kunihiro Nakai and Mr. Mitsutoshi Odera. The delegates from Malaysian team, on the other hand, were
derived from several agencies namely MINT, AELB,
Asian Rare Earth (ARE) Company and TOR Minerals.
The last two were private companies which generated
the TENORM waste in their work processes.
The opening meeting was chaired by Dr. DaudMohamad, Deputy Director General (Corporate) of

2,400 drums of oil sludge have already gathered in the storage facility of MINT.

The reconstruction of LTSF (Long Term
Storage Facility) has begun.

480,000 drums of Th waste has been storaged in
the LTSF. The maximum dose rate at the surface
of drum can be 200µSv/hr.

NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

common understanding on critical issues, is the mosteffective means in strengthening how to solve
TENORM issues in each country.
Both countries agreed that the following recommendations and further survey should be taken to solve
TENORM issues in each FNCA countries:
a. Strengthening the linkages of the regulatory bodywith relevant national agencies concerned with
the Radioactive Waste Management.
b. Exchanging information and providing mutualtechnical support, concerning the implementationof relevant ICRP recommendations and IAEA
documents.
Besides, the Task Group had implemented technicalvisits to Phung Interim Storage Facility and Thua Thien
Hue Mineral Company. Through these technical visits,
Japanese and Vietnamese experts gained good information about the status of exploitation and processingof beach sand in Viet Nam. Experts of Task Group recommended the leaders of Thua Thien Hue Mineralthat TENORM is to be controlled as following theinternational safety standard from the view point oftrade and guided them to solve the problems of
TENORM management.
The Task Group had successfully implemented all
topics of the TENORM discussion and survey meetingin Viet Nam.

Interim Report of TENORM
Discussion/Survey
Meeting in Viet Nam(Left)

Dr. Tran Kim Hung
FNCA RWM Project Leaderof Viet Nam
Director
Department of International
Relations & Planning
Vietnam Atomic Energy
Commission (VAEC)(Right)Dr. Nguyen Ba Tien
Deputy Director
Purification Technology
Division
Institute for Technology ofRadioactive and Rare
Elements (ITRRE, VAEC)
at Yonggwang NPP, Korea

According to the proposal and agreement of theRadioactive Waste Management Workshop held at
Daejeon, Korea, on November 2002, a new task groupon TENORM/NORM was authorized as a new project
under the FNCA framework. The Viet Nam - JapanTENORM Discussion/Survey Meeting was implemented in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on August 25-29,2003.
The topics taken up at the TENORM Meeting in Viet
Nam were as follows:a. Abstract of the TENORM Meeting result at
Australia and Malaysia,
b. Recent status of TENORM in each country.
c. Outline of TENORM regulations in each country.
d. Summary of ICRP publ. 82: Protection of the public in the situation of Prolonged Radiation
Exposure.
e. Summary of EC RP122 and IAEA DS161.
f. Ways of Cooperation on TENORM within the
FNCA framework.
Through an open exchange of views and experiences, it is recognized that TENORM is one of themost important issues for both countries. Both countries agreed that this kind of activity, based upon a

The black beach sand is pumped up withwhite sand and sea water from the bottomof pond.

The black beach sand is separated fromwhite sand by the cyclone separation
method.

5

Monazite, ilmenite and zircon sand are produced at the factory in Hue city.

NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

and the issues are still under discussion.
In the chapter, “problems to be considered” of thereport, the NORM/TENORM problem is listed up as thefirst issue to be resolved. As discussed in RP-122 part2, published by the EC, the BSS exemption levels are
not applied to the large quantities of material processed
and released by NORM industries because they arederived only for moderate quantities of material. The
general administrative group met 9 times during 2003
to discuss the NORM problems and the Council adopted the report on the exemption of NORM in October
2003. The main conclusions are as follows:- It is suitable to apply not only “practice” concept but
also “intervention” concept to NORM regulation,
because the pathways of exposure to NORM havealready existed widely, and- The applied radiological protection principles should
be different depending on the situation of NORM utilization, the controllability, the degree of hazard risk
and so on.
- Therefore, the categorization of NORM is very
important. NORM except for radon was categorized
into 7 categories as shown in the below table.
Category 1 should be excluded from the radiation
control. The intervention concept would be applied
to Categories 2 and 3. To control the materials
belonging to categories 4 and 5, both concepts relating to practice and intervention should be applied.
The dose criteria for exemption are considered as
1mSv/y for these categories. The value covers both
the dose limit for the public and intervention exemption level recommended by ICRP Publ. 82.
For Category 6, the consumer products have practical characteristics much stronger as compared toother categories. Therefore, 10 mSv/y is basicallyapplied as the dose criteria. Category 7 should be
regulated as an artificial source.

Recent Discussions inJapanese Radiation Council
Introduction of IAEA BSS*-exemption
levels to Japanese regulation* International Basic Safety Standards for pro- Prof. Toshiso KOSAKO
tection against ionizing radiation and the safetyof radiation sources, IAEA safety series
No.115, 1996

FNCA RWM Project Leader of Japan
Associate Professor, Engineering
Research Center for Nuclear Scienceand Technology,
The University of Tokyo

Dr. Nobuyuki SUGIURA
Research Associate, Medical
ScienceResearch Center for Nuclear Scienceand Technology,
The University of Tokyo

Mr. Minoru OKOSHI

at Ha Noi, Viet Nam

General Manager
Waste Management Division 1
Dept. of Decommissioning & Waste
Management
Japan Atomic Energy ResearchInstitute (JAERI)

The Japanese Radiation Council, chaired by Prof.
Yasuhito Sasaki, has the role of discussing and unifying technical standards on radiation safety. When regulatory authorities in Japan enact any technical standards on radiation safety, it is required to be put
through a consultation process by the Council. The
Council is composed of twenty committee members
who are the specialists in the field of radiological protection. The General administrative group can be set
up under the Council to discuss the issues in more
specialized fields. Presently, the general administrative
group, chaired by Prof. Toshiso Kosako, has discussed
an introduction to propose BSS exemption levels to theJapanese regulatory system and NORM/TENORM
regulation.
As to the introduction of the IAEA BSS exemption
level, the general administrative group published thereport in October 2002 following 27 meetings over a 3year period. Finally, a decision to introduce the BSS
exemption levels (activity/concentration) for the artificial
sources, without any modifications, into the regulatory
system has been made. The main reasons for adoption of the BSS exemption levels are as follows:- The levels are derived based on the latest principles
of radiological protection and scientific knowledge,
and- The levels are internationally coherent, especially forthe regulations for the safe transport of radioactive
material (IAEA ST-1 incorporate the same levels).
In order to agree on how to implement the exemption levels in Japanese legislation, the advisory committee was organized by the MEXT (Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)

Table: Categorization of NORM and Typical Examples
materials, such as mineral ore without procedure
1 Raw
to enhance activity concentrations
rock residues from past mine or industrial
2 Wasteactivities
Secondary products such as ash and scale produced

3 by NORM industries

rock residues from present mine or industrial
4 Wasteactivities
Mining, raw materials for industrial use (manufacture,

5 energy production, mining)
6 Consumer products including NORM

Refined nuclear material (e.g. Th), radiation sources

7 (e.g. Ra-226)
6

NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

ing pond are to be shipped out to the Tokai
Reprocessing Plant (TRP). Heavy water is also to be
retrieved from the moderator tank and transported elsewhere for treatment. As one of variations of watercooled power reactors, Fugen shares many common
features with light water reactors (LWRs) whereas it has
several features unique to ATR such as relatively complex structure in the core and the primary cooling system, and the use of heavy water as a moderator.
Therefore, decommissioning technologies common to
LWRs are applicable for most of the system other than
the reactor core and its vicinity, but some developmental and demonstration activities are necessary to copewith the matter peculiar to Fugen and to make decommissioning safer, more efficient and more economical.
Major technical areas of interest for R&Ds in preparation phase are listed in Table 1.

JNC’s advanced thermal
reactor Fugen is now preparing
for decommissioning
Mr. Tomio KAWATA
Executive director
Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute(JNC)

On March 29, 2003, the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) terminated the operation of the
165 MWe nuclear power reactor Fugen which had beenbrought into service 25 years ago at Tsuruga (Figure 1).
Fugen was a prototype advanced thermal reactor (ATR)

Figure1. Fugen Nuclear Power Station

developed by the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel
Development Corporation (PNC), the predecessor of
the JNC, and featured with a calandria-type tank filledwith heavy water moderator and multiple fuel channels
cooled by light water. It had a unique capability to burnboth uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) fuel andregular uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel in various core loading ratios. It burned during an entire operation period a
total of 772 MOX fuel assemblies which marked a world
record of MOX fuel burning in a single thermal powerreactor, and demonstrated an excellent performance of
MOX fuel for driving a power reactor. Fugen also
served for more than a decade as a training center for
operation and management technology of heavy water
reactor, and accepted a total of 56 trainees from 6 Asian
countries. Fugen was recently awarded the Nuclear
Historical Landmark Award by the American Nuclear
Society for the first time in Asia.
Since the shutdown in March 2003, Fugen project
has entered the pre-decommissioning preparation
phase which is scheduled to last for 10 years as illustrated in Figure 2. During this period, all the spent fuelassemblies remained in the core and stored in the cool-Figure2. Basic Plan for Fugen Decommissioning
Table 1. Areas of Interest for R&Ds for Fugen Decommissioning
Area
R&D areas
specific to
Fugen

Subject
Retrieval of heavy water (HW) and dismantling of HW
related system
Dismantling of pressure tubes and calandria tankEngineering support system
Radioactivity/ waste inventory assessment

Application andimprovementof technologies
commonly
applicable to
LWRs and others

Decontamination
Dismantling of turbine and auxiliary systems and building
demolition
Waste treatment/reduction
Material reuse
Clearance verification and radiation survey

OthersCollection of material aging data

In establishing a general plan for decommissioning,
the evaluation of radioactivity distribution and inventory
is very important, because such data are crucial for estimating radiation exposures to the workers and theamount of various kinds of radioactive waste, and thus
for determining the decommissioning strategy and thecost. In order to improve the accuracy of such evalua7

NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

tion, several kinds of activation foils were set around thereactor core and shielding and their measurement
results were used for verifying neutron transportation
codes ANISN and DOT-3.5. Contamination level forbuildings, equipment and pipings were also evaluatedby sampling measurements and direct survey. Basedon such preparatory evaluation and measurements, theamount of the waste to be generated by decommissioning was evaluated as shown in Table 2.

The Progress of ONRC
Project in Thailand
Ms. Nanthavan Chantaraprachoom
Senior Nuclear Chemist,
Radioactive Waste Management Project,
Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP)The Ongkharak Nuclear Research Center (ONRC)
Project which delayed for 5 years, now received a construction permit from the Thai Atomic Energy Commission
on 29 September 2003. The Commission on Atomic
Energy for Peace; the only agency authorized toapproved the project, and to issue the construction
permit of the 10 megawatt nuclear research reactor. It
will be built in Ongkharak district, Nakhon Nayok
province. The research reactor has contracted to San
Diego-based General Atomic since 1997.
The commission, which represents state agencies
such as the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP), andPublic Health and Industry ministries, based its decisionon the reactor safety issues. The OAP Secretary
General informed that Argonne National Laboratory,
under the US Department of Energy, had verified safety
aspects of the technology. The cooling technology andthe environmental impact assessment report (EIA) werethe last two safety issues needing approval. EIA is achapter in the preliminary safety analysis report. It is nota condition for the construction.

Table 2. Estimated Amount of Waste to be Generated from Fugen
Decommissioning(103 ton)
Metal

Concrete

Total

Low-level
radioactivewaste

Level-1

< 0.2

0

<0.2

Level-2

1

0

1

Level-32

1

3

Non-radioactive
waste

Clearance

4

30

34

Non-radioactive

10

320

330

20

350

370

Total

In order to minimize the decommissioning cost, theoptimization of the decommissioning strategy to minimize work load and waste generation and to assure acompliance with safety and environmental requirements
is necessary, and the system engineering approach is
required for achieving such goal. For this purpose,development of a decommissioning engineering support system is in progress by integrating a decommissioning management code system COSMARD, database management system, 3-D CAD system and virtual
reality (VR)/visualization system as illustrated in Figure
3.
Fugen decommissioning project is a leading project
where valuable experiences and engineeringknowhows are expected to be accumulated for theapplication to future decommissioning of water moderated power reactors in Japan and in the world.

Figure3. Schematic Concept of Decommissioning
Engineering Support System

8NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

After the announcement, comprehensive development plan of local community to support the siting of
RWMF was established in the government. The plan
includes a proton accelerator project, the move of
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) headquarters to the local area, and other financial support plans.
Based on the comprehensive development plan,
MOCIE decided to extend the voluntary public invitation
to every local self-governing body by July 15, 2003.
Active public relations on the comprehensive development plan with the safety of radioactive waste disposal were made in some areas. only Buan-Gun ofJeonbuk Province has applied to invite the RWMF in
Wi-Do island on July 14, 2003. MOCIE formed a
Committee for the evaluation of adequacy as a repository site of the Wi-Do island. Based on the basic geologic, environmental, ecological, and social conditions,the Committee has finally decided the Wi-Do as a candidate site.
Preliminary environmental investigation will be performed for one year, then the Wi-Do will be nominatedas the planned area for the development of power
resources if the area has no disqualifying problems.
After the nomination, specific site characterization study,
environmental impact assessment, and the detailed
design will be followed. It is expected the construction of
RWMF be started on October 2006, and completed by
the end of 2008. Interim storage facility of spent fuel will
be operated in 2016 as scheduled.

Schematic Model of ONRC Research Reactor and Related
Facilities

Siting of Radioactive
Waste Management
Facility in Korea
Dr. Myung-Jae SongFNCA RWM Project Leader of Korea
General Manager,
R&D Office
Nuclear Environment Technology Institute (NETEC)
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP)

Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy(MOCIE)
selected a candidate site for Korean Radioactive Waste
Management Facility(RWMF). Low level radioactive
waste repository, spent fuel interim storage facility andrelated research labs will be included in the RWMF.
In order to construct the RWMF by 2008, Nuclear
Environment Technology Institute (NETEC) had madeevery effort to obtain candidate sites on behalf of
MOCIE. In 2000, NETEC announced the public invitation of the RWMF for a year. Then, lots of efforts concentrated on the public relations of safety and benefitsof RWMF, in particular, in the 9 possible coastal areas.
Among the 9 coastal areas, petitions by residents toinvite RWMF were made in 7 areas. But the petitions
were declined by local self-governing body because ofpolitical and site-specific reasons.
Since all the efforts to select the site through public
invitation were ended in vain, MOCIE had changed thesiting policy from the public invitation to the designation
by operator. In order to select feasible candidate sites,
NETEC had carried out a project for one year from
December 2001. Four candidate sites, Namjung-Myonand Geunnam-Myon in the east coastal area andHongnong-Eup and Haeri-Myon in the west coastal
area, were selected from the project. On February 4,
2003, four sites were announced as candidate sites for
RWMF by MOCIE.

Bird's-Eye View of an Engineered Vault Type Disposal Facility

9NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

priorities, integrate prevention and control measures,

Introduction of People’s
Republic of China Law on
the Prevention andControl of Radioactive
Contamination

enforce rigorous management, and give priority to safety in the prevention and control of radioactive contamination.
As required by the law, the operator of a nuclear

Dr. Zhang Jintao

facility shall, before the facility’s siting, construction,

FNCA RWM Project Leader of China
Deputy Director General
Department of Safety, Protection and Quality
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC)

operation, and decommissions, and before loading fuelor engaging in any other activity, apply for a nuclear
facility construction and operating licenses, as well as
request examination and approval for fuel loading,decommissioning and any other required activity in

The People’s Republic of China Law on the Preven-accordance with the State Council’s relevant nuclear

tion and Control of Radioactive Contamination camefacility safety supervision and management provisions.

into force on the day of October 1, 2003. This law

Units producing, selling and using radioisotope andincludes eight chapters with 63 articles.

radiation-emitting devices shall, in accordance with the
Chapter I.

General provisions

Chapter II.

Supervision and management of pre-State Council’s relevant radiation protection regulations
for radioisotope and radiation-emitting devices, apply
for a licence and carry out registration procedures.

vention and control of radioactive conta-

Units mining or closing down uranium and thorium

mination

mines shall, before applying for a mining licence or

Chapter III. Prevention and control of radioactive

conducting decommissioning examination andpollution in nuclear facilities

approval procedures, draw up an environmental impact

Chapter IV. Prevention and control of radioactive

report and report to the competent environmental pro-pollution in the use of nuclear technolo-

tection administration department under the Stategy
Chapter V.

Council for examination and approval.

Prevention and control of radioactive

It is forbidden for radioactive waste and radioactively

pollution during the operation of ura-contaminated goods to be brought into or transferrednium, thorium and other naturally occu-

through the People’s Republic of China.

rring radioactive mining and utilizations
Chapter VI. Radioactive waste management
Chapter VII. Legal responsibility

Current Practices in
Dealing with NORM Waste
from Selected Industries
in the Philippines

Chapter VIII. SupplementaryThis law is enacted to prevent and control radioactive pollution, to protect the environment and human

Ms. Eulinia M. Valdezco

health, to promote nuclear energy, and to promote the

FNCA RWM Project Leader of the Philippines
Supervising Science Research Specialist & Head
Radiation Protection Services
Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI)

development and peaceful use of nuclear technology.
This law shall apply to the prevention and control ofradioactive pollution of site selection, construction,
operation, and decommissioning of nuclear facility, to

The wastes associated with coal mining and utiliza-

the application of nuclear technology and the operation

tion, and geothermal production has a wide range ofof uranium, thorium other naturally occurring radio-

physical and chemical properties. These wastes areactive mining and utilizations on the territory of thecontaminated with radioactive and chemically toxic

People’s Republic of China and in other territorial

substances. The radioactive component, which arewaters under its jurisdiction.

mostly due to naturally occurring radioactive materials

According to the law, the State shall set prevention
10NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT(NORM) can be found from extraction of steam fromsuch as authorization requirements or activity limits

the earth’s crust, and during mining and combustion ofwith respect to releases of natural radioactivity to thecoal. Aside from the naturally occurring K-40, the otherenvironment. Hence a number of environmental prob-

radionuclides found in NORM are Pb-214 and Bi-214

lems can be encountered in the disposal of thesefrom the decay series of naturally occurring Uranium-

wastes. The major concerns for the currently

238 and Tl-208 and Ac-228 from the decay series of

employed disposal methods are contamination ofThorium-232.

groundwater by leachate from disposal ponds and

Two waste streams exist from coal utilization in thelandfills. Moreover, if the sludges and scales are dis-Philippines. Those wastes arising from coal mining

posed of on the ground without reinjection, seepage

and wastes from coal combustion. The preferred dis-

into the shallow groundwater may occur. Althoughposal route for wastes from this category are by shore-

reinjection solves this problem, some contaminationline barrier for mining wastes and ponding for combus-

may still occur since groundwater pollution depends ontion ashes. Combustion ashes are also used for roadseveral factors like hydrogeological characteristics offilling and pavement. The estimated annual generation

the site, design of facility, chemical composition, solubili-of mining waste is 9.71 E08 BCM (bulk cubic meter)ty and permeability of the waste, among others.

and about 2.26 E05 metric tonne of ashes. The waste

The Philippine legislature is now proposing an inte-streams from geothermal production are in the form ofgrated hazardous waste act which will address all envi-

sludge and scales. Data currently available indicatesronmental issues and concerns related to hazardous

an amount of the order of a few tones dry sludge perwaste management, including radioactive wastes,

thermal production of sludges and scales arising annu-

NORM and TENORM wastes. The draft bill is now onally on the average. Reinjection to wells is the princi-

its final review process and active consultations with

pal means of disposal option for these wastes.

identified stakeholders are actively being pursued.

At present, the Philippines has no legal restrictions

Introduction of New RWM Project Leaders

Malaysia

Australia
Mr. Lubi Dimitrovski

Dr. Syed Abdul Malik

Head, Waste Operations & Technology
Development, Nuclear Technology,
Australian Nuclear Science &Technology Organisation (ANSTO)Manager, Radioactive Waste
Management Centre (RWMC),
Technical Services Division
Malaysian Institute for Nuclear
Technology Research (MINT)

Mr. Lubi Dimitrovski was nominated as a new Australian
RWM Project Leader.

Dr. Syed Abdul Malik was nominated as a new Malaysian
RWM Project Leader.

Predecessor: Dr. John Harries

Predecessor: Mr. Nik Marzukee Nik Ibrahim

11NEWSLETTER RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENTTheThe FNCA
FNCA Framework
Framework

Highlight in 2003

Role of the Meeting

FNCA Meeting

Ministerial Level

The FNCA Meeting to be held in December,in Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

Senior Official

The forth Ministerial Level Meeting (MM) of theForum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA) will beheld on December 3, 2003 in Nago City, Okinawa,
Japan, sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission(AEC) of Japan.
The Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) is also scheduled to be held on December 2, 2003 in conjunction
with MM.
Ministerial level representatives and senior officials
from FNCA countries will participate in the FNCA
Meeting.
The delegates of FNCA countries will make presentation of their country paper on nuclear energy policy,
and the following round table discussions on the 2
themes, “Enhancement of Socio-Economic Impact of
Nuclear Technology Application” and “Sustainable
Development and Nuclear Energy” will be actively
discussed among the FNCA countries.

Direction… ● Final decision

about importantmatters of the
FNCA… ● Review andadjustment for
Ministerial Meeting

Reporting

Coordinator

One person in eachcountry
Review andcoordination… ● Review andcoordination ofprojects

Reporting

Project Leader
Research Reactor

Public Information

Tc-99m Generator
Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)
Neutron Scattering (NS)

Nuclear Safety Culture

●

●

●

Radioactive Waste Management

Agriculture●

Mutation Breeding●

Biofertilizer

Industry

Medical Use●

Human-Resource Development●

Low-Energy Electron Accelerator

Radiation Oncology

Record of Past RWM Workshops
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)

1995 RWM Seminar
1996 RWM Seminar
1997 RWM Seminar
1998 RWM Workshop
1999 RWM Workshop
2000 RWM Workshop
2001 RWM Workshop
2002 RWM Workshop

Japan (Tokyo)
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
China (Beijing)
Thailand (Bangkok)
The Philippines (Manila)
Australia (Sydney)
Viet Nam (Da Lat)
Korea (Daejeon)

9) 2003 RWM Workshop
Indonesia (Jakarta)
10) 2004 RWM Workshop(to be decided in 2003 Workshop)
Participants: 253 Persons (cumulatively up to 2002)

Guidance how to find RWM articles in FNCA web-site
How to find RWM articles including introduction of PLs
1) URL of FNCA http://www.fnca.jp/english/2) Click “Structure of the FNCA”
3) Click “Radioactive Waste Management” which isshown in the left side column, under the title of“FNCA Project”.
How to find past RWM Newsletters in this web-site
1) URL of FNCA http://www.fnca.jp/english/2) Click “NEWS Letter” at the top of the globe

Existing Top Page of FNCA web-site

New Top Page of FNCA web-site

ASIA COOPERATION CENTER
JAPAN ATOMIC INDUSTRIAL FORUM, INC.
1-2-13 SHIBA-DAIMON, MINATO-KU, TOKYO 105-8605 JAPAN
PHONE : +81-3-5777-0753
FAX: +81-3-5777-0757

http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/
http://www.fnca.or.jp/english/

This Newsletter is issued by the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF) under thecontract of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).

12