Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster prompted
Germany to start shutting down aging reactors,
sparking growth in the nuclear power plant
decommissioning industry.
Korea wants to follow Germany's lead, but
does it have the technology?
Laah Hyun-kyung has the details.
This robot is tasked with a dirty job cleaning
and removing radioactive materials at a nuclear
power plant in Germany that is slated for
closure.
Other robots are tasked with different missions,
such as cutting wires and steel sheets, that
are essential to decommissioning a nuclear
facility.
This is just one of the country's 17 nuclear
power plants that the German Chancellor announced
would be shut down over the next 20 years.
"The goal is to minimize the overall portion
of radioactive waste.
Therefore they have to decide on effective
and efficient tools and methods."
Shutting all 17 reactors will come at a massive
cost.
The country estimates that it will take about
2-point-7 billion U.S. dollars to dismantle
just one reactor.
Germany will also have to invest billions
more to find alternative sources of energy.
Yet in Germany's eyes, the high cost comes
with a potentially higher return.
Considering there are about 4-hundred-40 nuclear
power reactors in the world, the global nuclear
power plant decommissioning industry could
be worth trillions of dollars.
And that's not counting the potential earnings
from pioneering alternative energy resources.
Countries like Korea are looking to Germany
as they seek to shut down their own reactors
and jump into what looks to be a growing industry.
Experts say Korea has secured only about 17
of the 38 key technologies needed to dismantle
nuclear power stations.
That is about 70 percent of what other advanced
countries such as the U.S., Germany and Japan
have.
"Korea has only dismantled two small nuclear
reactors.
That was eight years ago and both reactors
were one-hundredth the size of a commercial
nuclear reactor."
With some of Korea's existing nuclear reactors
having already reached or exceeded the end
of their lifespans, experts say that the country
needs to invest in nuclear decommissioning
technologies.
"Dismantling nuclear plants could be a safer
way to manage nuclear power, instead of extending
the life of old nuclear facilities that have
already reached the end of their lifespans."
Experts are urging Korea to focus on developing
decommissioning technologies to ensure the
safety of its own facilities.
Laah Hyun-kyung, Arirang News.
