By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Nuclear power accounts for a significant part of South Korea's green energy mix, but experts warn that the growing amount of spent nuclear fuel could provide a massive headache in the future.
A report by the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has revealed that the country's amassed radioactive spent fuel passed the 10,000-ton mark for the first time at around 10,101 tons.
Considering the government's plans to expand the role of nuclear power in the country's energy supply, the amount of nuclear waste is expected to reach 20,199 tons in 2020 and 30,211 tons in 2032, KAERI said, while passing the 40,000-ton mark around 2061.
The country has 16 light-water reactors, which combine to produce around 290 tons in radioactive waste per year, and four heavy-water reactors, which are pushing out about 390 tons. Eight more nuclear reactors are currently under construction.
Despite the growing concern over nuclear waste, the country has yet to start discussions to find ways to make spent nuclear fuel safe, let alone convince the environmentalists. Coming up with a storage system is a critical matter, as it could be about 100,000 years before the toxic waste loses its radioactivity.
Currently, the country is tentatively keeping spent nuclear fuel at the nuclear plants, although the storage facilities at some are expected to be saturated starting 2016.
``Although the government has made its commitment to nuclear power clear, the discussions over storage solutions for radioactive waste has been virtually non-existent,'' said a KAERI researcher.
``There needs to be a publicly open channel for discussions on this matter, as well as technical analysis and long-term research.''
The KAERI report suggests that finding a site for the permanent storage of radioactive waste is a possible solution, as well as securing overseas storage sites or reprocessing spent fuel both in wet or dry storage.
The emerging technology of pyro-processing, a high-temperature reprocessing method, could be an answer, KAERI said, although the adaptation would require significant government investment in research efforts.
One of the strong points of pyro-processing is that it keeps nuclear materials in the fuel cycle from being used in weapons, as it doesn't separate plutonium in a pure enough form.
``Pyro-processing has yet to prove that it is commercially viable at this point,'' the KAERI researcher said.