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Of: TT
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Photo: Fredrik Sandberg / TT
The final spent nuclear fuel depot should be built in Forsmark, according to Östhammar municipality. In the image the final deposit of low and intermediate activity waste. Stock Photography.
The final spent nuclear fuel depot should be built in Forsmark, according to Östhammar municipality. The historic decision was made during a special meeting Tuesday night.
But the government has the last word on the matter.
The Östhammar City Council has expressed its opinion. The municipality releases its veto and allows Swedish Nuclear Fuel Management (SKB) to build a final depot of spent nuclear fuel in Forsmark.
– It is an unconditional yes, says the municipal councilor Margareta Widén-Berggren (S).
Work to produce a final repository for Sweden’s nuclear waste has been ongoing since the 1970s. The municipality of Östhammar has been an active part in the process for 25 years.
– We have received answers to our questions, we feel that we are ripe for this. There is no reason to wait for the government. The rest of the process will be examined by the authorities in the step-by-step review, says Widén-Berggren, who has been involved for all the years.
100,000 years in custody
In 2011, SKB applied to the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) and the Land and Environment Court for permission to build the final deposit at Forsmark.
Here the spent nuclear fuel is intended to be stored in copper capsules surrounded by bentonite clay, some 500 meters deep in the bedrock. The waste, which is the most difficult waste of Swedish nuclear power, must be isolated and allowed to settle for at least 100,000 years.
Long-term safety has been the fundamental issue. In the fall of 2019, SKB conducted a long-term test in its laboratory in Oskarshamn to investigate changes in the bentonite clay and the protective ability of the copper pot.
Several environmental organizations have considered that the municipality should wait with the decision until SSM has made an initial review of the experiment.
– The question is why it is so urgent. The matter is still in the hands of the government, there is no need for the municipality to make a decision now, says Åsa Lindstrand, president of the Environmental Organizations Nuclear Waste Review (MKG).
Feel safe
But Östhammar city council chairman Jacob Spangenberg (C) feels confident about the decision.
– SSM has made it very clear that the experiment is not decisive for the integrity of the boat.
TT: Why did you choose to appear before the government?
– The government has promoted this. The Minister of the Environment and the Ministry of the Environment have referred to the fact that they are unaware of the attitude of the municipality. However, we have repeatedly courted them to send us the question. But it never comes.
The application is now in the hands of the government for further processing.
– I hope that the government will also make its decision in the near future. The state of knowledge is as good as can be. There are also many tests left. Everything is strictly regulated in the Law of Nuclear Activities, says Spangenberg.
In the early 2030s, SKB expects to be able to receive the first deliveries of spent nuclear fuel for final disposal.
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