Will spent nuclear fuel be safe in the ground?When I went to the research center,

[Anchor]
Spent nuclear fuel generated after nuclear power generation is highly dangerous as it is high-level radioactive waste.

Research is underway on the 'deep disposal method' of asking deep underground so that spent nuclear fuel does not reach our living area.

A space has been set up in Korea to explain the safety of disposing of spent nuclear fuel in an easy-to-understand manner.

Reporter Park Na-yeon is back.

[Reporter]
The cute character "Padongi" who appeared on the screen asks if it is safe to dispose of spent nuclear fuel in the deep ground.

When you press the blue button, it explains what in-depth disposition is and how safe it is through pictures and writings.

An exhibition space has been created at the Daejeon Nuclear Research Institute to show the safety of spent nuclear fuel disposal facilities.

Unfamiliar samples such as bentonite and uranium, as well as copper disposal containers found underground similar to the deep disposal environment, are displayed in dark lighting.

[Sanghoon Lee / Senior Researcher, Department of Storage Disposal Technology Development, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute: Similar to the in-depth disposal environment, we did our best to make those who came in feel like they are underground.]

Here, you can easily understand complex in-depth disposal systems using visual materials such as video and graphics.

In fact, uranium has not been dissolved in groundwater in the domestic underground environment and has not moved even 70m for hundreds of thousands of years.

As such, various research results showing that in-depth disposal of spent nuclear fuel is safe have been published by international academic journals, but it has been difficult for the general public to access such information.

[Ryu Ji-hoon / Lead researcher of the Department of Storage Disposal Technology Development at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute: Radioactivity is considered to be a rather repulsive property. We would like to provide intuitive evidence (on the safety of disposing of spent nuclear fuel) and a space where we can see and communicate with each other.]

The biggest challenge of in-depth disposition is whether safety will be maintained for tens of thousands of years or more.

The researchers said they supplemented the limitation of not knowing the long-term safety of in-depth disposal in a short period of time through this exhibition.

In addition, we plan to resolve misunderstandings about radioactivity and make efforts to make the public feel safe about the safety of in-depth disposal.

This place, where you can directly check the safety of disposing of spent nuclear fuel, is available to anyone through the application on the website of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute.

I'm Park Nayeon of YTN Science.


Video coverage: Kim Young-hwan