**Development Goal of the ‘Korean Disposal System’: Underground Research Facility 500m Deep… A Trillion-Won Project**
Starting in 2030, nuclear power plant spent fuel rods will reach saturation… The selection of a site for high-level waste disposal remains the biggest challenge.
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In Taebaek City’s Cheoram-dong, a site has been selected for the construction of an underground research facility (URL) necessary for developing various technologies required for building a high-level radioactive waste disposal site. This will be the starting point for Korea’s long journey to establish a high-level radioactive waste disposal facility by 2060.
The underground research facility is designed to simulate conditions similar to those of a future high-level waste disposal site. No high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel will be brought into the facility. Instead, various experiments regarding the performance and safety of Korea’s unique geological features and high-level radioactive waste disposal systems will be conducted within this facility, which is to be built at a depth of about 500 meters.
For instance, rather than using actual waste, the facility will artificially generate heat to test whether storage containers and the disposal site structure can withstand the conditions over time. Furthermore, it will develop technologies and procedures to address emergencies, such as recovering stored waste during significant issues like earthquakes.
The construction of this facility officially began following the government’s selection of the site in December last year, with plans to start construction in 2026 and complete it by 2032. The expected cost for building the underground research facility alone is around 640 billion won, with the entire project, including technology R&D, projected to reach a scale of approximately one trillion won.
In Korea, there is an ongoing debate about whether to continue using nuclear power as a primary energy source, which has indirectly delayed the establishment of a high-level waste disposal facility. However, the current government, emphasizing a pragmatic energy mix, along with the bipartisan consensus, has acknowledged the necessity of such a facility, as reflected in the recent legislation of the “High-level Special Act.”
Despite operating a disposal facility for intermediate and low-level waste since 2015, Korea lacks a designated site for permanently disposing of spent nuclear fuel. With the saturation of spent fuel pools at nuclear reactors expected to begin in 2030, the government plans to construct interim storage facilities at existing nuclear sites, which has already faced opposition from local residents.
The most significant challenge to constructing a high-level waste facility will likely be selecting a site, given past failures due to strong local opposition. However, with a new special act that includes support systems for hosting regions, the environment for building the facility has improved compared to the past. Nevertheless, even under favorable conditions, meeting the 2060 completion target remains challenging.
The government projects that it will take 37 years from site selection to completion, potentially pushing the completion date to 2063 if selection does not begin promptly. Decisions at the highest political level and from the ruling party are deemed necessary to advance this project, despite general public agreement on its necessity.
Cho Seong-don, Chairman of the Nuclear Environment Management Corporation, emphasized the urgency of developing technology for the safe storage of spent nuclear fuel, given that Korea has become the 5th largest nuclear power nation globally, yet has around 20,000 tons of spent fuel domestically.