Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology

This paper reviews current regulations governing the transport of spent fuel within nuclear power plant (NPP) sites and proposes measures to improve efficiency without compromising safety. In South Korea, historical practice has required the use of full transport casks even for short on-site transport. While a recent amendment by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) now permits the use of transfer casks within an NPP site, dose standards and cross-references inherited from off-site transport rules remain overly conservative and internally inconsistent. We propose three actions: (1) define off-site transport at the licensed NPP site boundary rather than at the unit boundary; (2) for on-site transport using transfer casks, apply ALARA-based dose control through the facility’s radiation protection program instead of prescriptive off-site dose tables; and (3) revise the exception clause in Article 9(2) of the technical regulations to remove conflicts with special-measures approvals and to restore internal coherence. Process mapping indicates that these changes will streamline procedures, reduce handling steps and work hours, and lower occupational dose, while preserving safety margins. Clarifying the regulatory scope and aligning dose management with on-site conditions are expected to enhance safe, reliable NPP operation and provide a practicable pathway for optimizing on-site spent fuel transfer operations in Korea.

Keywords

Spent fuel, Safety regulation, Transfer cask, Transport cask, 10 CFR 71, and SSR-06 (Rev.1)