Strategic and Technical Aspects in RD&D Program
Development for HLW Disposal System in Korea
JeongHyoun Yoon*, JeongHwan Lee and SeungHyun Kim

Radioactive Waste Disposal R&D Department, Korea Radioactive Waste Agency

Gajeong-ro 168, R&D office of Korea Radioactive Waste Agency Yuseong-gu Daejeon Korea.

Keywords: HLW disposal, RD&D, Disposal system, URL(Underground Research Laboratory)

Abstract
This paper is focused on strategic and technical aspects in RD&D Programme for development of HLW disposal
system in Korea. As the high-level radioactive waste management basic plan was deliberated and resolved by the
final Nuclear Energy Promotion Committee in 2016, the URL for licensing is to be constructed and operated
within the permanent disposal site to ensure timely management facilities. In addition to a permanent disposal
facility, the research URL(generic) is to be built separately from the management facility so that the programs
accounted of strategic and technical aspects to minimize trial-and-error. This paper shows what are strategic andtechnical factors in preparation of RD&D programme to implement Korean HLW disposal system and a futureplans for the elaboration of the site selection process, design, construction and operation of the disposal facility
would be materialized in a timely manner. Hence, it is required to develop a RD&D programme for the URL
operation for the demonstration of the disposal system considering the site selection schedule and the status andcharacteristics of domestic high-level radioactive waste. The preconditions for deriving RD&D programme forgeneric URL are the preferred rock type to be disposed of, the reference disposal system, the type of spent fuel,and the guidelines of regulatory technology. Consequently, the disposal program should be prepared taking into
account the associated with RD&D programme.
1. IntroductionAs
theHigh-Level
Radioactive
WasteManagement Basic Plan was deliberated anddiscussed by the final Nuclear Energy Promotion
Committee (July.25th.2016), the URL for licensing
was conducted and operated within the permanent
disposal site to ensure timely management facilities[1]. In addition to a permanent disposal facility, thegeneric URL will be constructed separately from the
management facility, and the disposal system for thesite selection, design, construction and operation of
the disposal facility will be established. Therefore, it
is required to develop a RD&D program for the URL
operation for the demonstration of the disposal
system considering the site selection schedule and thestatus and characteristics of domestic high-level
radioactive waste. The preconditions for deriving
RD&D programs for research URL are the preferredrocks to be disposed of, the standard disposal system,
the type of spent fuel, and the guidelines of regulatory
technology. In addition, the status of Aspo URL's
RD&D programme in Sweden, which is similar to thefinal disposal system considered in Korea, is underinvestigation. Finally, the URL RD&D programme
for research has been drawn. The ultimate goal of thegeneric URL is to develop a characterization
technologies for the disposal site, a technology for
applying the site's own disposal system, a safety
performance evaluation technology for the site, and tobuild the confidence of the stakeholders. Nine
programmes related to RD&D activities were derived
to accomplish with these goals.
2. Regulations related to HLW in Korea
Currently, the laws related to the disposal of

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japanhigh-level radioactive waste in Korea include Law
No. 13545 "Nuclear Safety Act", Nuclear Safety
Commission Regulation No. 14 "Rules on TechnicalStandards such as Radiation Safety Management",and Nuclear Safety Commission Notice No. 2015-21
General Standard for High-Level Radioactive Waste
Deep Disposal Facilities."(Fig. 1).
The Nuclear Safety Act stipulates the safety
management related to the research, development,
production, and use of nuclear energy to prevent
radiation-induced disasters and ensure public safety.
In relation to the disposal of high-level radioactive
waste, Article 63 stipulates that a person who intends
to construct and operate a radioactive waste storage,
treatment, disposal facility and its associated facilities
shall obtain permission from the Commission asprescribed by the Presidential Decree. The location,
structure, facilities, and performance of theradioactive waste management facility, etc., asdefined in Article 64 (1), "Securing the technicalcapability necessary for the construction andoperation of radioactive waste management facilities,
shall be in conformity with the technical standards set
forth in the regulations and not interfere with theprevention of public disasters of human bodies andobjects due to radioactive materials. According to thelegal notice of the regulatory agency(NSSC) are as
follows;
The safety of deep disposal facilities should becontinuously evaluated based on the latest
information for the purpose of step by step
throughout the entire disposal system including basic
research, site survey, design, construction, operation,
closure and post-closure management.
All aspects of disposal facilities, such as site
selection, design, construction, operation, closure andpost-closure management of deep disposal facilities,
should be based on the results of studies conducted inunderground research facilities that can characterize
deep disposal systems.
Underground facilities should be installed andoperated at the site of the disposal facility in order toconfirm the characteristics inherent to the disposal

system and to predict the long-term performance.
Fig. 1. Schedule for high-level radioactive waste
management

Fig. 2. Nuclear regulations of Korea
3. National policy of HLW in Korea
The 'Public Engagement Commission on Spent
Nuclear Fuel Management', established in accordancewith the 'Radioactive Waste Management Act',
recommended the government to establish detailedplans for the development of technology related tospent fuel management facilities through theparticipation of domestic and international experts,
local residents and civic groups ('15).
According to the recommendation of Public
Engagement Commission on Spent Nuclear FuelManagement and the Article 6 of the Radioactive
Waste Management Act, the government establishedthe "Basic Plan for the Management of High Level
Radioactive Waste Management" and publishedthrough the deliberation and resolution of the Nuclear
Energy Promotion Commission under Article 3 of the
Nuclear Energy Promotion Act ('16). The basic planis the first national plan to deal with high-level
radioactive waste. It includes the basic policy ofhigh-level radioactive waste management, the status
and prospects of the high-level radioactive waste
management, facility planning including site
selection, investment planning, public understanding
and technology development.
In particular, the basic plan stipulates that URL forlicensing, interim storage facility, and permanent
disposal facility are to be located in on a single site.
According to the basic plan, the site will be selected
for about 12 years through scientific research anddemocratic procedures, and the interim storage
facility will be constructed within 7 years after
securing the site. Prior to the interim storage,
high-level radioactive waste should be inevitably
managed within the NPP sites, and empirical studies
should be conducted at the URL for licensing. Basedon the international cooperation, the strategy of thelarge-scale framework is to secure timely disposalcore technologies aiming at both safety and economic
aspect efficiency, to ensure the transparency, public
reporting and continuous communication withstakeholders.

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japan

The reliability of the disposal project can beenhanced by developing the unique disposal system
suitable for the conditions in Korea and by
objectively proving its performance and safetyassessments.
4. Objective of Generic URL
URLs can be divided into generic URL andsite-specific URL according to the schedules ofcommercial disposal projects (Table 1). The generic
URL is a unique disposal system that is developed inconsideration of the geological condition, supporting
the work performed in preparation stage of thecommercial disposal project [2]. The generic URL ismainly based on empirical tests to demonstrate thesafety of disposal systems. These projects are carriedout at the generic URL located in the distribution areaof similar rock type before the candidate site of the
final repository is determined. (KORAD, 2012).

Table 1. Comparison of the generic andsite-specific URL as a functions of their features androles
Generic URL
Site-specific URL- Demonstration and- Facilities for supporting
performance of NBS's own
construction and operation
disposal systemof commercial disposal(EBS/NBS)
facilities- Focus on disposal- Data collection of rock in
research and analysis
site
technology development- Evaluation of site
- Development and testing
characteristics: Deepof site environmental
Environment in near-field
monitoring management- Prove disposal suitability
technology and programof disposal site
- Development of general- Development andpurpose database systemverification of relevant- Appropriatenesstechnology
assessment of preferred- Establishment of baseline
rock/site suitability
conditions of disposal site
- Test and demonstration of- Operation of management
safety evaluation model
system for site
- Verification andenvironment monitoring
demonstration of
before construction
construction and operation- Performance and safety
technology
evaluation requirements for- Development andconstruction and operation
application of safety caselicenses and the application- International cooperationof their related programs
and joint research- Commercial repository- Used for (the) technicalsite application programeducation and training

1) concept of a unique disposal system reflecting
domestic circumstances, 2) preferred rock species for
disposal, and 3) regulatory requirements (Fig. 3).
A generic URL RD&D programme for proving theperformance of a disposal system should include all
the detailed research items that need to be carried out
in a series of URL business processes leading to site
selection and site investigation, construction andoperation [3].
Fig. 3. Procedure of developing the RD&D
programme
Prior to developing the RD&D programme of ageneric URL, it is necessary to review the preferredrock type for the disposal reflecting the domestic
geological condition, and single or multiple rocktypes may be determined depending on the situation.
The most important component in a disposal system
is multiple barriers (engineered barriers + naturalbarriers). Engineered barriers prevent the outflow of
the RN spills leaking from high-level radioactive
waste, and the natural barriers serve to delay the
diffusion of RN into the ecosystem throughengineered barriers. The URL RD&D programmeshould consider how this multi-barrier system canprove that it can maintain safety performance incompliance with regulatory requirements [4]. Hence,in the development process of generic URL RD&D
programme, the expected performance items are
determined by taking the above items into
consideration and the RD&D programme of thebudget is derived by being compared with theoverseas situation. The resulting RD&D programme
is finalized by reflecting the status and conditions of
the research in the country.

5. Procedure of RD&D program of generic URL
Considerations for developing a generic URL
RD&D program are as follows;

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japan

Fig. 4. Concept of Korean reference disposal system(KRS)On July 25, 2016, South Korea finalized the 'Basic
Plan
for
High-Level
Radioactive
WasteManagement'(Draft) [1]. The site selection stage isaimed at the operation of a permanent disposal
facility which consists of excluding non-conforming
areas, collecting opinions from the public, conducting
basic site conformity survey and in-depth site survey.
The site selection period is expected to take about 12
years. It is necessary to secure an undergroundresearch facility (Generic URL) before the disposalsite is determined in order to effectively carry out site
investigation method, demonstration of the disposal
system, and promotion to the public. An undergroundresearch facility (Site-specific URL) is set up in the
final repository site derived from the site selection
stage, which is distinguished from the generic URL,
and an empirical study of the disposal system isplanned. The schedule for securing the generic URL
is expected to be about 10 years from site acquisition
to construction as shown (Fig. 5). The site will beselected in 2019, and investigated until 2021, andthe disposal repository will be constructed from 2023
to 2026, with the goal of operating from 2026 to 2053.
but due to the nature of NWMO and uncertainties
about the future, the schedule can be changed any
time.

Fig. 5. Timetable for high-level radioactive waste
management (Draft)
6. Development of generic URL RD&D programme
The roadmap approach is a common way todevelop RD&D programme for deep geologicaldisposal and the guideline should include principles
of flexibility, step-by-step approaches to disposal,
long-term verification of disposal plans anduncertainty. Through the execution of the generic

URL RD&D programme for research, it is possible toidentify the natural barriers target characteristic of thedisposal system and the performance goal of theengineering method, and to identify the design factorof the unique disposal system reflecting the sitecharacteristics in the short term and develop the final
disposal system will be used as a core factors. The
final goals of generic URL RD&D programme istimely secure and demonstrate core technologies
needed for the construction and operation of the deep
geological repository (DGR) considering various site
evaluation tests and verification for securing thesafety of DGR and for evaluating characteristics ofhost rock of disposal for optimization of construction.
In order to examine the applicability of the disposal
system that reflects the site characteristics, it isnecessary to verify the performance of the disposal
system, to complement and demonstrate theconstruction and operation of DGR, and finally tosecure the acceptance of the public. Prior to site
selection, we will focus on the site investigation andassessment technologies, the development of theconcept of disposal system, and the production ofsafety assessment input data for site selection
confirmation. For the purpose of securing theoperation license until the operation of the DGR, theobjective is to secure the safety assessment of thedisposal system, the long-term demonstration test, thedisposal facility handling method and equipment, andconstruction and operation methodology of DGR.
The ultimate goal of the generic URL is to develop
a characterization technology for the disposal site, atechnology for applying the site's own disposal
system, a safety performance evaluation technology
for the site, and to build the confidence of public.
Nine program related to RD&D activities were
derived to accomplish with these goals.
1) RD&D technical management program2) Site investigation program3) Rock mechanic investigation program4) Natural barrier evaluation program5) Engineering barrier evaluation program6) Disposal operation program
7) Information transparency and monitoring system
program
8) International cooperation program
9) Personal training program (2018 - 2052 years)
A total of 9 categories of RD&D programme wereselected and detailed in research projects proposed
within individual RD&D programme that is based on
IAEA’s recommendation (Fig. 6).
The data derived through the execution of the URL
RD&D program for research can be utilized for theconstruction licensing of permanent disposal facilities
in 2043 and the licensing of permanent disposal
facilities in 2052.

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japan

Fig. 7. Roadmap of RD&D technical management
programme goals (Draft)
8. Strategy to implement generic URL RD&D
programme

Fig. 6. RD&D programme related to goals (Draft)
7. Development of generic URL RD&D programme
Development and updating of RD & D programs
are required for obtaining research URLs and forlong-term operation. We will publish technicalreports every year, analyze RD & D results every two
years, and set future directions. This behavior can bealso used directly in the construction of a safety case.
Quality assurance is an act to ensure that all work
items are performed under the premises of quality
pursuit. In order to achieve these goals, it is necessary
to carry out task management for sectors such as
manpower, purchasing, quality, safety andenvironment according to a reasonable operating
system. The structure of the quality assurance system
consists of procedures, guidelines, training,
traceability of verification / certification and quality
audits. General guidance on pending issues relating tomanagement, quality and environment should be
prepared.
The total execution period is expected to take 36
years from '18 to '52 (Fig. 7). The final result is thedevelopment of a quality assurance system thatreflects the operator management system andoperator requirements for long-term URL operation.
It will be used as a basic system and will be used
immediately as regulatory agency license application
documents. It consists of five detailed projects linked
to two detailed programs.

In case of overseas cases, R&D strategy (R&D
planning,
implementation
strategy,
budgetmanagement, etc.) and management systems are
directly managed by the disposal program of eachcountry.
The R&D’s how it works is divided into fields
according to the characteristics of the project and is
carried out through collaboration with industry,
university and institute.
The radioactive waste management agency will
focus on planning and arranging the overall project(combination of R&D results), promoting low-cost
R&D (development of disposal container), and safety
related activities (including URL operation).
Implementation of international cooperation
focuses on performance assessment of repositories
through URL operation and is conducted throughdemonstration programs elements in associated withdisposal system.
The basic research is carried out by academia inorder to maintain human resources and the highest
level of technology to support radioactive waste
management agency.
The government-funded/government-contributed
research institute reflects the plans for disposal
projects into the national R&D policy and conducts
domestic R&D. The results of the research are
directly used by the radioactive waste management
agency.
The company conducts machinery, equipment, andsystems related to the construction and operation of
repositories that reflect the operator's R&D plans.
And also strive to secure the reliability andacceptability of disposal projects.
As for the framework for implementing R&D
programme, all the duties such as the technology andknowledge developed through URL RD & D for
research, secured site data, and information onbuilding a safety case are essential for the operationof the geological repository and construction permits.
Therefore, for the effective progress of implementing
the geological repository, we aim to enter the middleof the leading technology through joint research withdomestic industry, academia and government, andinternational cooperation.

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japan10. Reference[1] The basic plan for high-level radioactive waste
management (draft) from MOTIE (Ministry of Trade
Industry and Energy), Korea.
[2] OECD/NEA, 2013,
laboratories (URS), 52p.
Fig. 8. Framework for implementing the RD&D
programme
However, taking into account the efficiency andlicensing aspects of the project, it is the principle thatthe responsible organization of the radioactive waste
should take the initiative (Fig. 8). Therefore, adedicated agency is required to perform theintegrated performance evaluation and safety
evaluation, development of safety case, the disposal
facility design, and the operation of the input data
management system, which are required for theconstruction and operation of disposal facilities.

Undergroundresearch[3] Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2001,
40 CFR Part 197, Public Health and Environmental
Radiation Protection Standards for Yucca Mountain,
NV; Final Rule.
[4] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
1989, Safety Principles and Technical Criteria for theUnderground Disposal of High Level Radioactive
Wastes, Safety Series No.99, IAEA, Vienna.

Fig. 9.Concept of KORAD generic URL (Draft)
The preliminary layout of KORAD generic URL isbased on oversea case (Fig. 9). Future plans will berevised and supplemented through further researchand consultation.
9. Conclusions
In Korea, KORAD is responsible for the SNF
management in the short and long-term, i.e. thetransport, the interim storage and the geologic
disposal program. To follow government’ basic
national plan for SNF management, KORAD iscarrying out development of a RD&D programme
taking into account of political and technical aspects
in deep geological repository. The preconditions forderiving RD&D programme for generic URL are thepreferred rocks to be disposed of, the standard
disposal system, the type of spent fuel, and theregulatory technology guidelines. Consequently,
RD&D programme in associated with disposal
program is in the middle of preparation anddocumented also updated until its first official
publication as a leading program for Korean deep
geological repository study.

6th East Asia Forum on Radwaste Management Conference
November 27-29, 2017, Osaka, Japan