The world’s first permanent nuclear fuel waste storage facility will open in Finland

Finland is preparing to open the world’s first permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel “Onkalo” on the island of Olkiluoto. This is a unique facility designed to safely store nuclear waste at a depth of 450 meters underground for 100,000 years

Waste burial process begins from sealing spent rods in copper and cast iron containers. These containers, weighing about 24 tons each, will be lowered by elevator into a cave carved into the crystalline rock. Each storage facility will hold 30-40 containers, and the total storage capacity will be 3,250 canisters or 6,500 tons of waste.

“It is planned that there will be no external signs of the object”, – notes Pasi Tuohimaa, communications manager at Posiva, the agency that manages Finland’s nuclear waste.

Building a repository is only one aspect of solving the problem of nuclear waste. Gaining public support is also important, which can take decades.

“One of the principles of geological disposal is the idea that generations that benefit from nuclear power should also pay for and participate in the solution“, said Rodney Ewing, a mineralogist and material scientist from Stanford University.

Finland began searching for a repository in 1983. Over the course of a decade, the government considered four sites, weighing community input along with geological and environmental criteria. Eurajoki, a town with more than 9,000 inhabitants, provided the most social support and the best natural conditions. In 2000, the city council voted to approve the project. Local residents were inclined to this, since two nuclear power units were already located 13 km away in Olkilaut. The third was launched in April 2023 — the plant provides a third of Finland’s electricity needs.