South Korean civic groups oppose construction of spent fuel storage facility at Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant site

On September 4, the Joint Action Organization Against Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in the Honam region of South Korea held a press conference in front of the high-level radioactive waste forum venue in Gochang County, North Jeolla Province, demanding the cancellation of plans to build a storage facility at the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant site and proposing fundamental measures to address nuclear waste issues.

The organization stated that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) is pushing forward with the construction of temporary storage facilities at the plant site on the grounds that the spent fuel pools at Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant may reach saturation by 2030. The organization argued that this move fails to adequately respond to the opinions of residents near the plant and amounts to unilaterally shifting the burden of nuclear waste onto the local community.

The organization stated that the current plan involves building storage facilities at the existing nuclear power plant site for temporary storage of spent fuel until intermediate storage facilities and final disposal facilities are separately determined. Recently, briefing sessions and public hearings on the "draft plan for on-site spent fuel storage facilities" have been held in Yeonggwang and Gochang, but the organization believes that the related resident opinion-gathering procedures are merely formalities.

The organization also pointed out that the Special Act on High-Level Radioactive Waste permits the construction of temporary storage facilities within nuclear power plant sites, but such facilities have a design life of at least 50 years, and if extended, their operating period could exceed 60 years, posing a risk of evolving into de facto permanent disposal sites.

The organization demanded that the relevant South Korean authorities first conduct local referendums and public discussions in all potentially affected areas to confirm the true intentions of residents, and immediately halt all procedures related to the construction of on-site storage facilities that are premised on extending the operating lifespan of aging nuclear power units.