The Improvement of the Regional Regulatory Governance System for Radiation Risk Management: Spatial Analysis on Radiation Hazards in South Korea

Sangwon Lee, Jaewon Lim and Chan-Goo Yi
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Sangwon Lee: Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon 34142, Korea
Jaewon Lim: School of Public Policy & Leadership, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA
Chan-Goo Yi: Department of Public Administration, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Korea

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-24

Abstract: Since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, nuclear regulators have strengthened safety standards or decided to decommission the nuclear power plant. The vast majority of radiation is from nuclear power plants, so safety measures are also concentrated in nuclear power plants. Radioactive materials located much closer to the people are scattered around the nation. However, it is difficult for citizens to predict the radiation risk around them because regulatory agencies do not provide adequate information on radiation. The main goal of this study is to analyze the spatial distribution patterns of radioactive materials that serve as indicators for potential risk from a radiological hazard. The empirical findings in this study demonstrate the presence of spatial autocorrelation for the number of radiation licenses among 244 regions in the Republic of Korea. The policy implications are three-fold: (1) it is necessary to improve regulatory governance in consideration of permitted use; (2) the regional offices of regulatory agency can be established based on the identified spatial distribution of permitted use; (3) it is required to improve the information-disclosure system for materials. This study provides an opportunity to create a safer society by understanding the radiation around the public in general.

Keywords: nuclear safety; radiation hazard; regulation; regulatory governance; spatial analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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