World's First Permanent Nuclear Waste Site Wins License in Finland

The world’s very first permanent nuclear waste repository just got one major step closer to opening its doors for business. Posiva, the waste management company responsible for the project located in Eurajoki, Finland, just received its operating license for the Onkalo facility from the country’s government. The solution that we have, it's the missing point for sustainable use of nuclear energy," said Pasi Tuohimaa, the communications manager for Posiva.The site will encapsulate radioactive spent nuclear fuel in canisters designed to safely store the hazardous materials for 100,000 years, and then store them 400 meters (1,312 feet) under the ground within nearly 2-billion-year-old crystalline bedrock. After 100,000 years, the radioactivity of the uranium within will be essentially neutralized due to natural exponential decay. “This is a great and historic day for both Posiva and Finland,” the company’s Chief Executive Officer Ilkka Poikolainen said in a recent statement. 22 years after construction began, the finish line is finally within view – although an exact opening date still has not been determined. “Before final disposal begins, Posiva will finalise the commissioning stage, carrying out the necessary tests and inspections which STUK [the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority] also needs to verify and approve,” Poikolainen went on to say. The newly permitted Onkalo site, named after the Finnish word for ‘cave’, will be composed of two parts: the aboveground encapsulation plant and the belowground repository, which will be able to store up to 6,500 tonnes (7,200 tons) of spent nuclear fuel. “To ensure safety, the facility uses a multi-barrier defense system to isolate the waste permanently. Spent fuel rods from the Olkiluoto and Loviisa plants are sealed inside thick, corrosion-resistant copper canisters,” describes a recent report from Interesting Engineering. Once these canisters are lowered hundreds of meters into shafts drilled deep into the bedrock, they will be surrounded with expanding bentonite clay “to absorb moisture and block movement.” “Finally,” Interesting Engineering reports, “massive steel-reinforced concrete plugs seal the subterranean tunnels shut.” When the site is fully up and running, it will inter an anticipated maximum of 60 canisters per year until it reaches its maximum capacity of approximately 3,300 canisters. It is anticipated that that maximum capacity will be reached by the 2020s, at which the entire site will be backfilled, sealed, and given to the state for permanent management.It will be the very first permanent nuclear waste site in human history, closing a nearly century-old waste loop that poses an enormous threat to human health, not to mention a considerable burden on taxpayers. In the United States alone, temporary repositories of spent nuclear fuel are growing by about 2,000 metric tons each year, with a price tag nearing $10 billion. The United States Government Accountability Office has warned that “Spent nuclear fuel—fuel removed from commercial nuclear power reactors after it has been used to produce electricity—can pose serious environmental, public health, and security risks if not properly managed,” and has urged the United States federal government to reach consensus on a permanent solution. But while the United States – the world’s biggest nuclear power producer – remains in gridlock over a solution, Sweden and France are moving ahead with their own permanent repositories, and Finland is ready to cross the finish line and make global energy history. “Finland’s strong safety culture underpins the production of clean energy,” said Finland’s Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala. “It is our responsibility across generations to ensure the safe and responsible use of nuclear power, from construction through to the final disposal of spent fuel. As a result of more than 40 years of systematic efforts, Finland will launch the first final disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel in the world.”By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.comU.S. Lawmakers Warn Banks Against Trump's Russian Diesel DealIran Eyes $130 Oil While at Least 50 Tankers Sit Stuck in the GulfInvestors Are Piling Into Dangote. But Is the Price Right?