On the 26th, the Nuclear Safety And Security Commission held a meeting and approved the decommissioning of the Gori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1. This is the first commercial nuclear power plant decommissioning approval in Korea.
Gori Unit 1 is Korea's first nuclear power plant that began commercial operation on April 29, 1978. It is a pressurized water reactor with an electrical output of 587 megawatts (MWe). Gori Unit 1 was permanently shut down in June 2017, and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) submitted an application for decommissioning approval on May 14, 2021.
The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) reviewed the documentation for three years, from February 2022, assessing the final decommissioning plan submitted by KHNP for Gori Unit 1. The KINS review is a process to verify whether the contents of the final decommissioning plan and quality assurance plan for decommissioning submitted by KHNP are adequate.
The implementation decree of the Nuclear Safety Act stipulates that decommissioning approval criteria include having the technical capabilities necessary for the decommissioning of reactor facilities as set by the Commission's rules, ensuring that the decommissioning plan meets the criteria defined by the Commission's rules, and that the radiation exposure during decommissioning does not exceed dose limits.
A KINS official noted, 'We reviewed the adequacy of the decommissioning plan based on the radiological characteristics of the Gori Unit 1 facility and site, the appropriateness of the radiation protection plan, and the specificity of the radioactive waste management plan. Since February, when the review was completed, the results have been evaluated by the Nuclear Safety Specialized Committee.'
The most contentious issue at the meeting was whether decommissioning work could proceed next to Gori Unit 2, which is still in operation. Commissioner Je-mu asked, 'Since the decision on the continued operation of Gori Unit 2 has not been made, how about postponing the decision on the decommissioning of Gori Unit 1?' This was based on the concern that the decommissioning work could affect the safety of Gori Unit 2.
KHNP responded that the system separation between Gori Units 1 and 2 has been completed, so the decommissioning work will not affect the safety of Unit 2.
There was also concern about the likelihood of accidents that could occur during the decommissioning process and whether the expected exposure dose resulted from such accidents would remain below the dose limits. The Nuclear Safety And Security Commission and KINS evaluated the expected radiation exposure doses for workers involved in the decommissioning operations or nearby residents for each major decommissioning task, all of which were found to be below the threshold.
Assessing whether KHNP has adequately completed sufficient preparations for the decommissioning of Gori Unit 1 was also part of the evaluation. KINS and the Nuclear Safety Specialized Committee determined that KHNP's preparations for the decommissioning of Gori Unit 1 were conducted appropriately per standards. KHNP established an organization specifically for decommissioning work and allocated 108 personnel: 25 in the headquarters Nuclear Facility Management Office, 68 in the Gori Unit 1 decommissioning project office, and 15 in the Central Research Institute's nuclear facility management group. An official from the Nuclear Safety And Security Commission stated, 'KHNP trained 599 decommissioning personnel from 2014 to 2023 and is continuously advancing workforce development.'
The total expense for the decommissioning of Gori Unit 1 was evaluated at 1.0713 trillion won. The cost for managing the decommissioning project and decommissioning activities accounted for 808.8 billion won, and waste disposal costs accounted for 262.5 billion won. The disposal cost of spent nuclear fuel is separately earmarked according to the radioactive waste management law and is excluded from this assessment.
KHNP is budgeting the decommissioning costs for nuclear power plants annually in the form of provisions and is setting aside cash for the decommissioning costs of one nuclear power plant unit in anticipation of rising actual decommissioning costs. As of the end of last year, 964.7 billion won had been saved.
The Nuclear Safety And Security Commission, KINS, and KHNP expect that the decommissioning of Gori Unit 1 will take approximately 12 years. A representative from the Nuclear Safety And Security Commission explained, 'While it might slightly decrease or increase during the project, arithmetically it is anticipated to be completed by 2037,' adding that 'It typically takes about 8 to 12 years for reactors similar to Gori Unit 1.'
The site of Gori Unit 1 is expected to be utilized as an industrial site after decommissioning is complete. An official from the Nuclear Safety And Security Commission explained, 'Due to the presence of other Gori nuclear power plants right next to Unit 1, it cannot be opened to the public,' noting that 'I understand that KHNP has plans to repurpose it as an industrial site, including constructing nuclear-related facilities.'
The Nuclear Safety And Security Commission and KINS expect that the decommissioning of Gori Unit 1 will serve as an opportunity to foster the nuclear decommissioning industry. As of May this year, 214 nuclear power plants have been permanently shut down in 22 countries worldwide. Among them, 25 have been decommissioned, with the United States leading with 20, Germany with 3, and Japan and Switzerland each with 1. There are still 189 nuclear power plants that remain permanently shut down but have not been decommissioned. Due to the number of reactors nearing permanent shutdown, the nuclear decommissioning market is expected to continue growing.
The domestic nuclear power industry believes that by participating in the decommissioning of Gori Unit 1 and building a track record, they can enter the international nuclear decommissioning market. Korea possesses global competitiveness in the nuclear power construction sector but lacks experience in the decommissioning market. The United States has two companies that specialize in nuclear decommissioning after decommissioning 20 units.
In preparing for the decommissioning of Gori Unit 1, KHNP has secured 58 commercialization technologies for decommissioning. The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has also independently developed 38 foundational technologies.