Finland’s operating low- and intermediate level waste repository at Olkiluoto is now half full, TVO announced 8 May on the facility’s 20th anniversary.
So far a total of 5500 cubic meters of L/ILW from the Olkiloto plants has been stored in two underground silos (60-100 m deep) at the site, together with small items from the Finnish health care sector, industry and research institutions.
Waste is transferred to the silos from the transport vehicles by means of a remote-controlled crane. Every year, about 100-180 cubic metres of waste is deposited in the VLJ repository; two thirds of the waste is low level waste and one third intermediate level waste.
TVO aims to minimize the amount of nuclear waste produced and has decreased the volume of intermediate waste by 20 to 30 percent through the upgrade of condensate treatment at OL1 and OL2.
Pekka Simula, who is in charge of the repository said that the silos can accommodate 31 tiers of concrete waste boxes, each with a volume of five cubic meters. The ILW silo currently contains 16 tiers of boxes, while the LLW silo contains 18 tiers, he said. Typically 20-65 boxes of waste are transported to the site each year
The VLJ repository plans to store operating waste from the Olkiluoto 3 plant, currently under construction. Designs for the expansion are currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Employment and Economy, TVO said.
Related Articles
SONGS to remain offline through the summer
SCE reveals San Onofre restart plan
