Finland starts nuclear waste storage project

Finland has begun the process of establishing the world's first geological storage center for spent nuclear fuel. The project, called Onkalo, is designed to store 6,500 tonnes of nuclear waste from the country's five nuclear reactors.

Onkalo's location and design

The Onkalo site is located 400 meters underground in the town of Eurajoki, near the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. The facility includes ten kilometers of tunnels carved into ancient, stable rock that is 1.9 billion years old.

Construction and investment

The Onkalo project required 22 years of work and one billion euros in investment to complete the tunnels and storage cavities. While the operating license has been granted, the site is not yet active. Further tests and inspections by the Finnish Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority (STUK) are still needed.

Other global projects

Other countries are developing similar projects. Sweden has started building its own geological repository, expected to store 12,000 tonnes of spent fuel. Switzerland and Canada are also advancing their plans for deep geological storage.

France's Cigeo project

France’s Cigeo project is the largest of these initiatives, aiming to store 28,000 cubic meters of nuclear waste in 270 kilometers of tunnels at a depth of 500 meters. The project is still in the authorization phase.

Article references

A related article titled We visited the largest surface nuclear waste storage site in the world provides more details on nuclear waste management. Another article, Why this deep nuclear waste storage project was abandoned in the United States, discusses challenges faced in the U.S. with similar efforts.

Article source

The article The world's first geological storage center for nuclear waste opens in Finland first appeared on Révolution Énergétique.