FOCUS ON EUROPE | FINLAND
Swedish government approves SKB’s final repository system
The Swedish government has decided to allow SKB to build a final repository for used nuclear fuel in Forsmark in Östhammar Municipality and an encapsulation plant in Oskarshamn. “It is a historical decision that enables SKB to dispose of the nuclear waste that our generation has produced. This decision is met with open arms. We are now looking forward to implementing Sweden’s largest environmental protection project,” says SKB CEO Johan Dasht. The final repository will cost around SEK19 billion ($2bn) and will
create about 1500 jobs. It will be financed by funds already available from the Nuclear Waste Fund. “For SKB, the decision further strengthens our position as a world leader in this area. The final repository also provides long-term solutions for electricity generation and is, thereby, our contribution to enabling fossil-free living within one generation,” adds Dasht. SKB has researched and developed technology for the final repository for more than 40 years in collaboration with experts from universities,
research institutes and higher education institutions in Sweden and abroad. The final repository method was reviewed and assessed by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Land and Environment Court. The host municipalities, Östhammar and Oskarshamn, have also worked with these issues for a long time and have thereby taken responsibility for ensuring that Sweden has a functioning final repository system in place. “Our application has undergone extensive review and it has clearly
emerged that SKB’s final repository method satisfies the stringent safety requirements for man and the environment. We have a safe and secure final repository solution that we are very proud of,” Dasht says. The next step in the licensing process is for the Land and Environment
Court to establish conditions for the facilities. The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority will also decide on permit conditions under the Nuclear Activities Act.
Construction can start only when all licences are in place, after which time, it will take about ten years to build the repository. ■
V conduct a safety assessment of the application and is in charge of the oversight of the construction and commissioning of the nuclear facility. The actual final disposal activities are due to start in the mid-2020s. According to Posiva’s CEO and president, Janne Mokka, submitting the application for the operating licence is a significant milestone for the entire nuclear energy sector. “We can all take pride in the long-term and responsible
approach of the various parties in the use of nuclear energy in Finland, with Posiva now having the capability to launch the first, demonstrably safe final disposal operation of spent fuel in the world here in Olkiluoto. We have a solution,” Mokka says. “The work carried out for several decades to demonstrate
long-term safety and develop the final disposal facility concept ONKALO®
to suit the conditions of Olkiluoto
has now been finalised and we can concentrate on the installation of equipment in the encapsulation plant and the final disposal repository, commissioning of the facility and preparations for operational activities,” he adds.
Tiina Jalonen, senior vice president, development, for
Posiva, says that the future outlook is now promising. “In addition to engaging in the safe operational implementation of final disposal in the future, we are developing our concept further towards a more industrial solution and support the vision of our subsidiary Posiva Solutions of turning the expertise gained during the project into a successful Finnish export product,” Jalonen says. Posiva Solutions Oy is a subsidiary of Posiva Oy and
focuses on the sales of Posiva’s knowhow accumulated from design, research and development efforts in the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel during the last 40 years. Recently the company announced it will study the general criteria for Lithuania to dispose of its used nuclear fuel. Under a year-long contract Posiva Solutions will “discuss the principles that will ensure the safety of used nuclear fuel and long-lived radioactive waste storage in a geological repository, the methodology for long-term safety assessment, the methods to be used for safety assessment, software and data,” according to Ignalina. ■
Above left: The encapsulation plant pictured in December 2021 Photo credit: Posiva Oy
Centre: Illustration of the encapsulation plant when construction is complete Photo credit: Posiva Oy Above right: Final disposal concept in Olkiluoto Photo credit: Posiva Oy
32 | March 2022 |
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