Finnish nuclear waste management company Posiva Oy, has revelaed that the excavations have been completed for the encapsulation plant near Olkiluoto.
The above-ground encapsulation facility forms part of Finland's deep geological storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. It will be used to recieve, dry and package spent nuclear fuel into disposal canisters before they are transported by lift to the underground repository.
Groundwork and excavations for the encapsulation plant started in October 2016. The next phase of construction, which included shotcreting the walls got undeway in September.
The excavation work of the final disposal facility itself was launched in December 2016 and is being carried out by YIT Construction. Posiva said that work is progressing with excavations of the vehicle access tunnels leading to the final disposal facility. Posiva is to carry out repository excavation work in a series of eight phases.The first phase of excavation works is expected to be completed by mid 2019.
The site for the geological waste repository at Eurajoki near Olkiluoto was selected in 2000. The Finnish parliament approved the decision-in-principle on the project in 2001 and Posiva submitted its construction licence application to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy in December 2013. The repository is scheduled to start operating in 2023.
Photo: Work on the Encapsulation Facility at Olkiluoto (Credit: Posiva)
