A 'Radioactive Waste Underground Research Facility' to be Established in Taebaek... No Actual Radioactive Waste Will Be Brought In

A high-level radioactive waste research underground research laboratory (URL) will be constructed in Taebaek. The URL is a purely research facility, and no high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel will be brought in at all.

On the 18th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced at the 'Research Underground Research Laboratory Site Selection Evaluation Committee' held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry that Taebaek-si, Gangwon-do, was finally confirmed as the planned site for the URL construction.

Conceptual diagram of an underground research facility for research purposes.

The research underground research laboratory is a facility for developing a Korean-style disposal system suitable for Korea's unique geological environment at a depth similar to a high-level radioactive waste disposal site (about 500m underground). The technologies developed at this facility will be utilized in the site selection, construction, and operation processes of the disposal site after the enactment of the High-level Radioactive Waste Special Act. After completion, the facility will be opened to the public, allowing citizens to directly experience an environment similar to that of a high-level radioactive waste disposal site.

The research underground research laboratory site was open for applications in June this year, and the invitation for hosting plans was received until August, with Taebaek-si submitting a sole application. Subsequently, the site selection evaluation committee was formed with a total of 20 private members, including the Site Suitability Evaluation Subcommittee and the Acceptance Evaluation Subcommittee, and after conducting a review based on eight evaluation criteria, Taebaek-si's proposed site was finally confirmed as the planned site for the research underground research laboratory construction.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "After going through necessary procedures such as a preliminary feasibility study next year, construction of the research underground research laboratory will begin in 2026 and is scheduled to be completed in 2032," adding, "We plan to continue efforts to ensure the prompt passage of the High-level Radioactive Waste Management Special Act, which is currently pending in the National Assembly."