The Finnish government has granted the construction permit for nuclear waste specialist Posiva to build the world’s first final disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel.
The facility will be located on the island of Olkiluoto on Finland’s west coast, 250 km northwest of the capital Helsinki.
“This pioneering project is important not only for Finland, but also on a global scale,” Posiva’s president and CEO Janne Mokka said. “It is the first [such] project entering into construction phase in the whole world.”
More than 40 years of research and development have gone into the project, according to Posiva, which is owned by Finnish nuclear energy producers Teollisuuden Voima and Fortum, who hold 60% and 40%.
The facility will be comprised of two parts: an encapsulation plant on the surface where nuclear material will be sealed in disposal canisters, and the final repository deep in the bedrock, 400 metres below surface.
The facility could accept waste by the early 2020s, and operate for 100 years. The repository has been designed to house up to 6,500 tonnes of material in canisters without failing for 100,000 years.
The facility will handle all the spent fuel made by the Olkiluoto and Loviisa nuclear plants over their 60 to 70 years of operation, which is an estimated 5,500 tonnes.
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