First nuclear waste dump goes operational

Radioactive waste is taken into a repository in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Friday. / Courtesy of Korea Radioactive Waste Management Corp. By Kim Tae-gyu The country’s first nuclear repository went into operation Friday with intermediate- and low-level radioactive waste being deposited into the holding facility in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, despite opposition from some politicians and civic groups. A total of 1,000 drums of radioactive material from the Uljin nuclear power plant on the east coast were taken to the country’s first nuclear dump, situated around 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul. Some 50 local politicians and civic activists attempted to block the shipment, causing a two-hour delay in the delivery, contending it was not safe to operate an incomplete facility. ``The dump’s permanent storage areas have yet to be completed. Without them, the waste should not be taken into it. The measures show that the government does not care about safety,’’ an activist said. In response, the state-run Korea Radioactive Waste Management Corp. said the dump has no safety problems. After years of setbacks, the authorities found a site for the nuclear dump in 2005 by dangling 300 billion won in subsidies as well as a substantial amount of jobs for any town that agreed to house the facility. The incentives attracted a total of four cities and Gyeongju won when up to 90 percent of the city’s residents gave a green light to the idea. Korea is one of the world’s nuclear powerhouses as it meets about 40 percent of its electricity demand through plants across the country. Low-level waste is radioactive byproducts created from the production of nuclear fuel and includes protective overalls, gloves, papers, tools, rags and filters among others. Intermediate-level waste involves a more complicated process of decomposition due to its components of resins or chemical sludge even though the toxicity is much lower than the spent fuel, which is high-level waste. The country is still struggling to find a site to deal with the latter. 중저준위 핵 폐기물 경주로 첫 반입 오랜 논란 끝에 경주 방사물폐기물처리장 (방폐장)이 운영을 시작했다. 한국방사성폐기물관리공단은 24일 울진 원자력 발전소의 중/저준위 방사성 폐기물 1천 드럼을 반입했다고 밝혔다. 하지만 경주 시의회와 시민단체들은 지하처분고가 완성되지 않은 상태에서 방사성 폐기물의 반입은 위험하다고 항의했다. 50여명의 시위로 반입이 2시간 가량 지연되기도 했다. 경주는 2005년 중/저준위 방폐장으로 선정되었다. 3천억원의 국고지원과 수천개의 직업을 제공한다는 조건에 4개 도시가 신청했고 주민의 90% 이상 지지를 받은 경주가 선정되었다.

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