Earth is our body
By Kim Sun-ae
Now in Korea, spent nuclear fuel is being kept in temporary storage facilities at nuclear power plant sites. However, most of these storage facilities will be saturated in about 10 years.
Spent nuclear fuel, which emits high heat and strong radiation, is cooled in water pools at the site of each nuclear power plant for 3 to 5 years, and then is stored at a temporary/interim storage facility and finally, at a permanent disposal facility. The problem is that the radioactivity of spent nuclear fuel is so strong that it remains toxic for 100,000 years.
Currently, deep geological disposal is considered as the only way to dispose of the spent nuclear fuel. This method involves storing radioactive waste in a stable geological layer at a depth of 500 to 1,000 meters.
Nevertheless, experts express doubts on the safety of this option. Humans have existed only for about 200,000 years on Earth. Therefore, how can we be confident that there will be no leakage of radioactive substances underground for 100,000 years? Even if the ground moves just 1 millimeter a year, it will move 100 meters in 100,000 years. So experts say that this method cannot be considered to be completely safe.
We cannot be sure that we will be able to store nuclear waste safely for a much longer period than human history. With this worrying dilemma, don't we have to close nuclear power plants as soon as possible and stop generating radioactive waste?
In his book, “Conflicts over Spent Nuclear Fuel,” Jeong Jeong-hwa, former chair of the Moon Jae-in government's Committee for Reviewing Spent Nuclear Fuel Management Policy, shows the difficulties in finding the sites for storing high-level radioactive waste. Although the Korean government has tried to select these sites since 1986, it has failed until now because of its one-way attitude and residents' strong opposition.
To build a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel, it is necessary to find a stable geological layer. Nonetheless, we still do not know whether there is a rock layer in Korea where nuclear waste can be stored safely for 100,000 years. A map of active faults in the country will only be made by around 2036.
However, in approximately 10 years, most of Korea's temporary storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel will not be able to store more waste. And who would want to accept nuclear waste in their region?
So, is it right to continue operating nuclear power plants even without permanent disposal facilities for spent fuel?
Even if the government manages to secure a permanent disposal facility, it is sad to imagine that we will dig 500 meters underground and throw away toxic waste there. The Earth, which has given so many things to us, is not a place to discard harmful substances. Everything we throw away returns to us through air, water and food. The Earth is our body that we should take care of.
Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/dancinglf) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated "Little Lord Fauntleroy."