Sweden’s nuclear fuel management company, SKB, has received an environmental permit for extension of the final repository for short-lived radioactive waste, SFR, in Forsmark.
The SFR is part of SKB’s final repository system, which is one of Sweden’s most extensive environmental protection projects. It will take short-lived operational waste from the Swedish NPPs and radioactive waste from medical care, industry and research are already stored in the existing facility. When the extension is completed, the facility will have a total storage capacity of about 180,000 cubic metres.
An application for a permit to extend SFR was submitted in 2014 and approved by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Land and Environment Court in 2019. In April 2021 Östhammar Municipality also approved the extension, and the Swedish government approved SKB’s application in December 2021.
The latest permit following a judgement by the Land and Environmental Court regulates, among other things, noise, transport and other effects on the environment. At the same time, SKB was also granted permission to use and desalinate seawater needed during construction to conserve fresh water which is a scarce commodity in the region. The court also decided on enforcement for initial work, which means that SKB can begin work above ground in the near future.
The terms of the SFR extension and the seawater withdrawal were discussed in court for three days. The expansion is expected to last for six years and will initially involve ground work, a water treatment plant and other infrastructure. The next phase will include work on tunnels in the underground rock. SKB will now submit a preliminary safety report to the Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) in early 2023.
In January, SKB also received government approval for construction of a final repository for used nuclear fuel in Forsmark and an encapsulation plant in Oskarshamn. SKB’s large projects entail investments of about SEK9 billion ($989m) and will create about 1500 jobs. The projects will be financed by funds already available from the Nuclear Waste Fund.
Image: Illustration of the existing SFR with the extension in blue (courtesy of SKB)
