Completion of nuke repository delayed over 2 years

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- The completion of South Korea's first nuclear waste
repository is likely to be postponed by more than two years due to weak ground
conditions at the construction site, a government official said Monday.

South Korea began work in April 2008 on the nuclear waste repository, located in
the outskirts of the historic city of Gyeongju, about 371 km southeast of Seoul.
The facility was scheduled for completion in 2010.
"Unforeseen conditions in the granite bedrock require additional work in the
building of tunnels to move waste to underground silos," said Kang Nam-hoon, an
official at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. "Instead of being completed around
June 2010, construction will be completed by December 2012."
Related to the delay, the state-run Korea Radioactive Waste Management Corp.,
which is responsible for the construction of the repository, said low and
intermediate level waste that arrives before construction is completed will be
sent to temporary holding areas.
Low and intermediate level waste refers to protective gloves worn at nuclear
power plants, radioactive filters and various X-ray byproducts used in hospitals.

The facility covers 2.1 square meters of land and can hold up to 800,000 drums of
low-grade waste products. At present, 47 percent of the original plan has been
completed.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)

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