In recent years, nuclear energy has been experiencing a real renaissance. More and more countries, including Poland, are planning to build new reactors. Too Sweden plans to build 10 more reactors by 2045.
The same problem for 75 years
While nuclear reactors do not emit pollutants into the environment when producing electricity, like fossil fuel power plants, they have another serious drawback – spent nuclear fuel. How to store deadly radioactive waste until it is safe? This question has tormented the nuclear industry since the first commercial reactors began to be launched in the 1950s, notes Reuters.
The agency reminds that according to estimates by the World Nuclear Association there are approximately 300,000 in the world. tons of spent nuclear fuel that requires disposal. Most of this waste is stored in cooling tanks near the reactors that produced it.
Forsmark final repository
Until now, Forsmark, a small town on the east coast of Sweden located about 150 kilometers north of Stockholm, was known for having a nuclear power plant there. Now this will change, because the Swedish radioactive waste repository will be built in Forsmark.
The final tomb for nuclear waste will be 60 km of tunnels in the rock bed located at a depth of 500 meters below the surface. The landfill is to accommodate 12,000. tons of spent nuclear fuel. Radioactive waste is to be enclosed in 5-meter-high, corrosion-resistant copper capsules, which will be packed in clay and buried.
As reported by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, the plant will accept its first waste in the late 2030s. The last transports are scheduled for around 2080, when the tunnels will be filled and closed.
Landfill construction costs, to be covered by the nuclear industry are estimated at approximately CZK 12 billion ($1.08 billion).
Call for further security checks
The launch of the landfill may be significantly delayed. As reported by Reuters Swedish NGO MKGwhich deals with nuclear waste, demands further security checks. To this end, MKG filed an appeal to the Swedish court. MKG is concerned about the tightness of the copper capsules in which for 100,000 radioactive waste is supposed to lie there for years. MKG refers to: research conducted by the Royal Swedish Institute of Technologywhich showed that copper capsules may corrodewhich creates a risk of leakage of radioactive elements into groundwater.