Finland to bury nuclear waste in world’s first geological tomb
Workers inspect the Repository in ONKALO, a deep geological disposal underground facility, designed to safely store nuclear waste, on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland.
Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images
Finland is on the cusp of burying spent nuclear fuel in the world’s first geological tomb, where it will be stored for 100,000 years.
The pioneering project has been hailed as both a watershed moment for the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy and “a model for the entire world.”
At some point either next year or in early 2026, highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel will be packed in watertight cannisters and deposited into bedrock more than 400 meters below the forests of southwest Finland.
The durable copper canisters will be isolated, separated from humans and kept underground for thousands of years.
“Onkalo,” which is the trademark name of the long-term disposal facility, is the Finnish word for a small cave or pit. It is an apt name for the repository, which sits atop a warren of tunnels and is situated next to three nuclear reactors on the island of Olkiluoto, approximately 240 kilometers from the capital of Helsinki.
A worker walks at the turbine room linked to the OL3, the latest among three reactors at the nuclear power plant Olkiluoto on May 2, 2023, on the island of Eurajoki, western Finland.
Jonathan Nackstrand | Afp | Getty Images
Established in 1995, Posiva is tasked with the responsibility of handling the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel rods at Onkalo. The Finnish company is jointly owned by nuclear power company TVO and utility Fortum.
“Basically, the Onkalo project is that we are building an encapsulation plant and disposal facility for spent fuel. And it’s not temporary, it’s for good,” Pasi Tuohimaa, head of communications for Posiva, told CNBC via videoconference.
The fact that Finland [has] built a repository now and in the next year or two we’re going to be operating it and start the disposal process … I don’t want to call it a miracle, but it wouldn’t be a bad way of framing it in the global context.
Gareth Law
Professor of radiochemistry at the University of Helsinki
Tuohimaa said the first-of-its-kind geological disposal facility had received a lot of interest from industry players, citing what he described as a nuclear “renaissance” in recent years and an energy crisis that gripped Europe and parts of Asia from mid-2021 through to late 2022.
“Having a solution for the final disposal of spent fuel was like the missing part of the sustainable lifecycle for nuclear energy,” Tuohimaa said.
The role of nuclear power
The Onkalo project has stoked debate about whether anyone can guarantee the long-term safety of spent nuclear waste and the extent to which atomic power should be used in the fight against the climate crisis.
Nuclear energy currently provides about 9% of the world’s electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association.
As it’s low-carbon, advocates argue that nuclear energy has the…
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