Sweden embarks on controversial nuclear waste project

Sweden has begun constructing a final repository for spent nuclear fuel in Forsmark, 93 miles north of Stockholm. This project will make Sweden the second country in the world, after Finland, to have such a solution. The repository is designed to store waste for 100,000 years and will be able to accommodate 13,200 tons of radioactive waste.

The repository will consist of 37 miles of tunnels buried at a depth of 1,640 feet in rocks that are 1.9 billion years old. The spent nuclear fuel will be encased in 16-foot copper capsules resistant to corrosion, surrounded by an additional layer of clay. The first waste is expected to be delivered to the repository at the end of the 2030s, and the project is scheduled for completion in 2080.

Although the construction of the repository is a milestone, the project has faced criticism. The Swedish NGO MKG has filed an appeal, demanding additional safety inspections. Research by the Royal Institute of Technology suggests that the copper capsules may corrode, posing a threat to groundwater.

Linda Birkedal, chairwoman of MKG, emphasized that decisions regarding the storage of radioactive waste require absolute certainty of safety over thousands of years. The organization proposes delaying the project by a decade to allow further research.

We can wait ten years to make the decision, considering that this is something that must be safe for 100,000 years, emphasized Birkedal.

The cost of the Forsmark repository will be approximately 12 billion kronor ($1.08 billion) and will be entirely covered by the Swedish nuclear industry. The facility is designed for waste from current reactors but does not include fuel from future power plants. Sweden plans to build 10 new reactors by 2045, indicating the need for further investments in nuclear infrastructure.