A study on the possibility of clearance for radioactive metal wastes from decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Korea

Decommissioning wastes generated from decommissioning of a nuclear power plant are mainly comprised of metal wastes. These metal wastes are considered to be possible of clearance by appropriate management. Accordingly, this study is carried out to assess the possibility of clearance from the viewpoint of worker safety during the clearance of metal wastes with the aim of reducing the disposal amount of radioactive metal wastes during the decommissioning of a nuclear power plant. The assessment targets were the Boron Recovery Tank pipes and pressurizer, and the RESRAD-RECYCLE computer code was used to assess the radiological risk of each scenario. The assessment results showed that the BRT pipes met the permissible radiation dosage for clearance and the pressurizer met the permissible radiation dosage for clearance after 23 years in case of the decontamination factor of 1,000 and after 5 years in case of the decontamination factor of 10,000, respectively.