Euradwaste '08 - EU Bookshop - Europa

In 2003, Posiva started the construction of the ONKALO, an underground site characterisation facility,
for the purpose of final characterisation of the bedrock on the site for the final repository.
The facility will also give possibilities to test final disposal technology in actual deep underground
conditions. The experiences that will be gathered during the construction will be important complements
to SKB’s planning for the future construction of the final repository in Sweden. It will
give us the opportunities to compare results from experiments and tests that have been performed in
the Äspö laboratory. It will give opportunity to verify methods and quality control programmes and
to demonstrate the whole KBS-3 disposal sequence in full scale at a real site.
5. Siting of facilities
The siting programmes for the final repositories both in Finland and Sweden have been performed
in parallel and also integrated to research and development activities. According to the Swedish
legislation reactor owners had to ensure safe management of the spent fuel and also to present a
R&D program for final disposal of the fuel. SKB published the KBS-3 report in 1983, 25 years
ago, covering these requirements. The R&D program should also cover the siting of a repository.
The report was approved in 1984 by the Swedish government and gave green light for the start-up
of new reactors.
The Finnish strategy at that time was to adopt the KBS-3 concept and focus resources on the siting
of the final repository to be able to select one site in 2000 which was required by the Government
guidelines. The site selection process started in Finland in 1983 and ended in 1999 when a site at
Olkiluoto in the community of Eurajoki was selected. The corresponding site selection process
started in 1992 in Sweden, when SKB in its RD&D Programme 1992 described the stepwise process
for siting and construction of the final repository for spent fuel. SKB started site characterization
at two sites in 2002 and one of these sites will be selected during 2009.
SKB and Posiva have had comprehensive information exchange and collaboration in all aspects in
their siting activities. This collaboration has not only supported investigations and the technical
work performed by SKB and Posiva but has also strengthened relations between all stakeholders
involved and increased our knowledge in all aspects of nuclear waste management.
It is our belief that the joint research, joint development work and the sharing of information in all
steps all the way to the point when both countries repositories are taken into operation will support
our work in ensuring that quality and safety requirements are met. We also believe that sharing and
comparing work and results will help us to reach the necessary level of confidence in all steps of
repository development.
6. Challenges
Of course challenges will appear during this kind of cooperation which comprises issues of such
diversity. Some are dealing with cultural differences, some are technical and some are of organizational
character. The differences in legislations and regulations of course have impact on the cooperation.
The timescales of SKB and Posiva have the same target date for start of operation of repositories.
This does not necessary mean that the delivery of results before this date are the same. These differences
mainly come from differences in regulations in each country and how the license process
has been set up. In Finland a two-step licensing process is followed: first an application is made to
the government on the construction license, after construction a separate application is made to the
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