Dr. Jo Dong-geon of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute Elected Chair of the International Radioactive Waste Management Committee

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute announced on the 1st that Dr. Donggeon Jo has been appointed to the Bureau of the 'OECD/NEA Radioactive Waste Management Committee (RWMC),' an international committee under the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that conducts various international joint research on spent nuclear fuel, high-level waste, and low- and intermediate-level waste.

According to the Atomic Energy Research Institute, with Dr. Jo's appointment to the Bureau, South Korea will gain a leading position in the field of spent nuclear fuel safety management and enhance its international status.

The RWMC Bureau is led by major countries at the forefront of nuclear waste management technology, such as the United States and France. South Korea has participated in related activities since the early 2000s, and this is the first time it has been appointed to the RWMC Bureau.

Dr. Donggeon Jo previously served as the head of the Radioactive Waste Disposal Research Division at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and currently serves as the head of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage and Disposal Technology Development Group. He is an expert possessing both reactor design experience and spent nuclear fuel disposal facility design technology.

Dr. Jo expressed his aspiration, saying, "Through my activities in the RWMC Bureau, I will do my best to promote international cooperation and technology dissemination to safely manage all radioactive waste generated from commercial reactors as well as next-generation reactors such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)."