An analysis on applicability of temporary onsite storage facilities of spent fuel from PWRs in Korea

The Kori nuclear plant, which is scheduled to be dismantled, will trigger the shortage of the storage pools. Accordingly, interim storage facilities, which are commonly categorized into wet and dry types, are in need to resolve the issue of saturation. Dry storage has an edge over wet storage in terms of the volume and operation of storage. Moreover, owing to its stronger economic and safety aspects, this type is currently dominant around the world. In Korea, there is a need for storage methods to address high burn-up as well as regular spent nuclear fuel generated in nuclear power plants. Korea can learn a lesson from Japan, which has longer history in NPP and became the first country in Asia to make an interim storage facility. The Korean government remains unchanged in its policy not to abandon nuclear energy despite the public opposition, and is getting warnings about the saturation of storage pools by the year of 2024. Interim storage facilities are being discussed as an alternative option that the government can choose to buy some time. Japan's Mutsu case can be a benchmark for Korea especially considering the limited space in both countries, from which Korea can refer to when selecting the type and site of interim storage facilities