[en] Technical standards by legal term in Korea are the mandatory requirements which are prescribed in nuclear laws and Notices of the MOST (Minister of Science and Technology). Regulations on Technical Standards for Nuclear Reactor Facilities, etc. (Ministerial Ordinance No.31) prescribes the technical standards on the location, structure, installation, performance, operation, and quality assurance for the design, construction and operation of reactor facilities and nuclear fuel cycle facilities. Although the ordinance was wholly amended in July 2001, the technical standards by the ordinance should be improved in a way because they do not have separate and detail standards for different type of reactor, and still have some mutatis mutandis regulations and so on. Recently, globalization for the safety standards has been pursued. In this environment, technical standards have to be improved to meet the concept of the Atomic Energy Act and the international safety level. In this paper, the structure and components of the technical standards for reactor facilities were reviewed and evaluated comparing with foreign standards such as IAEA safety standards, and considering current regulatory position. Also, the components and contents of the new requirements were suggested

[en] The irradiation embrittlement of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel has been one of the main safety concern in the nuclear power plant. In the present study a SA508-3 RPV steel was irradiated by neutron with various fluence up to 10¹⁸ n/cm² (E > 1 MeV) at a temperature of approximately 70 deg C. The irradiation responses of the structural, magnetic and mechanical properties of RPV steel were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, Moessbauer spectra, magnetic Barkhausen noise and micro Vickers hardness measurements. The transition of all of these parameters occurred above the neutron dose of 10¹⁶ n/cm². The results of X-ray and Moessbauer experiments revealed that neutron irradiation leads to the possibility of the partial amorphization in the investigated RPV steel. The changes of physical and mechanical properties can be explained in terms of irradiation induced cascade damage of crystalline materials

[en] The Atomic Energy Act (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') contains no provision that sanctions the retroactive application of new safety standards to nuclear facilities in operation to satisfy the development of technology (hereinafter referred to as 'new safety standards'). In addition, the periodic safety review under Article 23-3 of the Act does not set forth application of, nor assessment under, new safety standards. When the fatal and overwhelming impact of nuclear accidents is taken into account, it is advisable to apply the new safety standards retroactively to nuclear facilities in operation. However, retroactive application of new safety standards to nuclear facilities in operation would entail a modification in the standards for permits, etc. Therefore, there exists a risk of violating the principles of the Constitution and administrative laws, namely the principles of the prohibition of retroactive application, safeguarding of good faith and so forth. Accordingly, this report scrutinizes the possibility of introducing retroactive application of new safety standards under the Act (hereinafter referred to as 'retroactive application'), based on the theories of Constitution and administrative laws