Ssweden has given the green light to plans for the underground disposal of radioactive fuel elements. The radioactive waste is to be kept in a repository near Forsmark for at least 100,000 years. “We do this to take responsibility, both for the environment and for people, but also for Sweden’s long-term power generation and Swedish jobs,” Environment Minister Annika Strandhäll told journalists on Thursday.
The announcement by the Social Democratic government came after the project had been delayed for years. The disposal site is near a nuclear power plant, about 130 kilometers north of Stockholm. The spent fuel rods are first placed in cast-iron cases. These sleeves are then slipped into copper tubes which, if properly sealed, are said to remain airtight for 100,000 years. They are kept half a kilometer underground, surrounded by crystalline rock. The plans also include the construction of a plant in Oskarshamn, southern Sweden, which will be responsible for the copper canisters.
The projects of the company SKB, which belongs to the Swedish nuclear power industry, have been classified as safe by the authorities according to the applicable criteria. A court is now to issue the formal approvals. According to Swedish media reports, it could take decades to complete.
Greenpeace criticism
Sweden is thus following the example of neighboring Finland, which is currently building a repository in Eurajoki on the south-west coast of the country. The repository is about to be completed and is scheduled to go into regular operation in 2025 after a test phase. The two countries are the first to give the green light for this type of disposal facility.
“Together with Finland, we are the first in the world to take responsibility for our nuclear waste,” said Strandhäll. She praised the project as a “safe repository solution”.
The environmental organization Greenpeace criticized the move as a decision with “100,000-year consequences”. Greenpeace referred, among other things, to the “too great uncertainty” of the project. It is an “irresponsible” decision.
In Germany, as in many other countries, the question of a repository is still open. When the lights go out in the last German nuclear power plant at the end of 2022, the nuclear waste that has accumulated over decades will continue to radiate in large quantities. Experts expect around 10,500 tons of highly radioactive waste from fuel assemblies by 2080. They should one day rest in a repository that should officially be found by 2031. It is difficult to predict whether this will succeed.
#Underground #storage #Sweden #seal #nuclear #waste #airtight #years