Finland is on the verge of burying its spent nuclear fuel the world’s first geological tomb, where it will be kept for 100,000 years. The pioneering project has been hailed as both a breakthrough moment for long-term sustainable nuclear energy and “a model for the world,” CNBC reports.
“Onkalo”, a long-term waste disposal site
“Onkalo” is the trade name of a long-term waste disposal site. It’s a Finnish word meaning a small cave or pit. CNBC notes that it’s an apt name for the repository, which is at the bottom of a labyrinth of rock tunnels and is situated next to three nuclear reactors on the island of Olkiluoto, about 240 kilometers from Helsinki.
The final storage of spent fuel rods in Onkalo is handled by Posiva, a company founded in 1995. which is jointly owned by energy company TVO and utility company Fortum.
The role of nuclear energy in decarbonization
According to the World Nuclear Association, Nuclear power currently supplies about 9 percent of the world’s electricity.
Due to its low carbon dioxide emissions, supporters of this technology claim that Nuclear energy can play a significant role in helping countries generate electricity while reducing emissions and their dependence on fossil fuels – notes CNBC.
Some environmental groups, however, argue that the nuclear industry is a costly and harmful distraction from cheaper and cleaner alternativesThe Onkalo project has also sparked debate about whether anyone can guarantee the long-term safety of spent nuclear waste.
Meanwhile, Gareth Law, professor of radiochemistry at the University of Helsinki, described Onkalo project as a “major milestone” for both Finland and the international nuclear power industry. According to Law, Posiva is right to sell the idea of such storage of nuclear waste as a world novelty. In his opinion, it will be the first repository where it will be possible to store spent nuclear fuel in a very safe and solid way.
Finland’s “model for the whole world”
The Onkalo project is based on the so-called “KBS-3” method developed by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company.
As CNBC describes, KBS-3 is based on the multi-barrier principle, where several barriers are designed to ensure the long-term safety of spent nuclear fuel. In practice, this means that if one barrier fails, the isolation of radioactive waste is not compromised.
In the solution proposed by the Finns, the highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel will be packed in waterproof containers andplaced in a tomb in the bedrock more than 400 meters below the forests of southwestern Finland. In this way, the durable copper containers will be isolated, separated from humans and stored underground for thousands of years.
