Euradwaste '08 - EU Bookshop - Europa

members also from the industry, recommended interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, a final repository
for LILW, a transportation system, necessary arrangements for reprocessing of the spent fuel
and also for direct disposal of spent fuel in a deep geological repository. It was also recommended
that the waste producer should bear all costs… The work by the committee resulted in the passing
of a new law, stipulating that new nuclear power reactors could not be put into operation unless the
owner was able to show that the waste problem was solved in a safe way. The nuclear power industry
in Sweden decided to give highest priority to the waste problem in order to meet the requirements
in the law. A jointly owned company, which today is SKB, was established to fulfil the requirements
in the new legislation. Planning of new waste management facilities started and the interim
storage facility was taken into operation in 1985 and the final repository for LILW in 1988.
The law stipulated that the owner of the reactor had to show how and where a completely safe storage
could be provided for either the high level reprocessing waste or the spent nuclear fuel. “The
storage facility must be arranged in such a way that the waste or the spent nuclear fuel is isolated as
long a time as is required for the activity to diminish to harmless level.” “These requirements implied
that measures should be taken which during all phases of the handling of the spent nuclear
fuel, can ensure that there will be no damage to the ecological system.
The waste management programme in Finland started in the early 1980’s. The accident at Three
Mile Island led to increased concerns about the use of nuclear power and also of waste issues. The
general plans for nuclear high level waste management in Finland were based on future reprocessing
of the spent fuel. TVO was at that time discussing about reprocessing contracts with BNFL and
Cogema. IVO (later Fortum Power and Heat) was still sending the spent fuel back to the Soviet
Union. The high prices for reprocessing together with low uranium prices lead to second thoughts
and TVO withdrew from negotiations regarding reprocessing contracts.
In 1983 a decision was taken by the Finnish Government that TVO should either seek for possibilities
to send their spent fuel abroad permanently or start a systematic for direct geological disposal
of spent fuel in Finland. Future milestones for a disposal programme were defined. A site for a final
repository for spent fuel was to be selected in 2000, the repository construction should start in
2010’s and the start of disposal of spent nuclear fuel operations in 2020. Reacting to various national
and international developments in 1994 an amendment was made to the Nuclear Energy Act
that prohibited both the exports and imports of any nuclear waste from or to Finland. In practice
the amendment meant that all the nuclear waste arising should be disposed of in Finnish bedrock or
soil.
3. Start of research and development work
Comprehensive and intensive research work started in Sweden as a result of the new Swedish legislation.
A “crash program” was started and the very first international discussions on experiments in
an abandoned iron mine, Stripa, in central Sweden started. The international cooperation in the
Stripa mine started as a joint project between Sweden and the United States. An early American
proposal about basic research together with a more down to the earth Swedish research program
was the start of a very fruitful period which set the standards and ambitions for international cooperation
in the area of research on geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Around 1980 an important
step was taken when OECD/NEA took the initiative to organize a broader international participation
in the Stripa Project. This initiative resulted, in a very short time, in the creation of a network
of the most excellent researchers, experts and laboratories around the world. Both Finnish
nuclear power companies, TVO and IVO joined the Stripa project during the 1970s.
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