The decommissioning of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is rapidly increasing because NPPs are not only no longer profitable in many cases but are also being decommissioned due to a lack of public acceptance or political reasons in many countries, particularly in Europe, following the explosion of the Fukushima Daiichi NPP. Accordingly, a significant body of research has focused on achieving safe, environmentally sound, and sustainable decommissioning in many countries where there is demand for NPP decommissioning. In order to achieve sustainable decommissioning that restores the NPP site to its pre-NPP environmental state, it is necessary to understand the safety, technology, and cost aspects as well as having the process and strategy to systematically promote them. Although there are a limited number of countries with experience and knowledge in the management of decommissioning multiple NPPs, researchers in countries just starting NPP decommissioning need diverse research information on how to formulate a sustainable decommissioning strategy as well as related factors. In particular, a systematic review of decommissioning strategies, such as DD, ID, and ET, and the influencing factors associated with each strategy is needed from the researcher’s point of view. In this regard, this study reviews the research literature on decommissioning strategies for nuclear power plants with a sustainable perspective. A systematic method involving a meta-analysis is used. The results of this study confirm that many researchers are most interested in DD and are dealing with ID and ET at the same level, but in reality, DD and ID are being adopted at similar rates. Thus far, only three ETs have been adopted in the United States. Most countries that have adopted ID are deemed to have been influenced by political decisions.

The accident rate in Korean construction industry is much higher compared to the one in other industries. One of the main reasons for this problem is the health and safety management cost (HSC) estimation method which does not reflect the project features at construction sites. In Korea, health and safety management cost is estimated by applying a legally designated ratio in proportion to construction cost without reflecting construction features, such as the building’s shape, number of floors, and construction period. However, such a method does not fulfill the cost for the gradually strengthening safety management of high-rise residential buildings. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to develop a cost assessment model for sustainable health and safety management of high-rise residential buildings. For this purpose, actual data of 23 completed projects was collected and analyzed to identify problems and influence factors of HSC assessment and to establish a regression model. By applying the model established for five new sites as a case, its validation was verified. The results of this study will be utilized as reference data for the HSC estimation method and its relevant policy establishment.

In this study, the microstructural evolution of an Fe-Cr-Al system was simulated in two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) systems using the phase-field method. We investigated the effect of Al concentration on the microstructural evolution of the systems, with a focus on the nucleation and growth of the Cr-rich ${\alpha }^{\prime }$ phase. In addition, we quantitatively analyzed the mechanism of the effect of Al concentration on the microstructural characteristics of the 2D and 3D systems, such as the number of precipitates, average precipitate area (volume), and ${\alpha }^{\prime }$ phase fraction. In particular, we analyzed the effect of Al concentration and the dimensions of the system cell on the formation of the interconnected structure at high Cr concentrations, such as 35 Cr$at\%$ and 40 Cr$at\%$. To enhance the performance of the simulations, we applied a semi-implicit Fourier spectral method for the ternary system and a parallel graphics processing unit computing technique. The results revealed that the initiation of phase separation in the 2D and 3D simulations was enhanced with an increase in the average Al concentration in the system. In addition, with an increase in the average Al concentration in both systems, the ${\alpha }^{\prime }$ phase fraction increased, while the change in the phase fraction decreased.

The precast concrete (PC) method is preferable in construction activities for its short construction time, guaranteed quality, and cost-effectiveness. Most researchers and engineers believe that these benefits are maximized if the PC components are produced at manufacturing plants. However, under similar production conditions, the in-situ production of PC components can save production costs while providing quality equal to or better than in-plant production. Several studies have described the benefits for the cost reduction effects of in-situ production. However, the verification by using case studies was not conducted. The purpose of this study is to analyze the cost reduction effects of the in-situ production of PC elements. For this study, a case project was selected to establish an in-situ production plan and PC columns were produced on site. Then, the cost reduction effects were analyzed using the actual data of the case project. The results of this study will be used as a core for the development of algorithms for in-situ production of PC components.