RD&D-Programme 2004 - SKB

• An encapsulation plant co-sited with Clab is planned. Design of the plant is under way and
development of the encapsulation technology is proceeding. As an alternative, a siting at a
deep repository in Forsmark will be examined.
• Two candidate sites are being investigated for the siting of the deep repository: Forsmark in
the municipality of Östhammar and Simpevarp/Laxemar in the municipality of Oskarshamn.
These sites were prioritized after a decision process based on broad information gathered
from general siting studies and feasibility studies. The intention is that one of the candidate
sites will be chosen later on as the site of the deep repository.
• The selection pool for siting of the deep repository that is currently available also includes
other sites that remain as possible alternatives, in the event the investigations of the candidate
sites do not yield satisfactory results. Furthermore, a large body of comparison material is
available from the study site investigations conducted previously at some ten sites in various
parts of the country, as well as from investigations in the Finnish nuclear waste programme.
• Both the encapsulation plant and the deep repository require permits under the
Environmental Code and the Nuclear Activities Act. Statutory consultation procedures
for this have been commenced, and the coming decision processes are well defined.
On this basis, SKB has updated the plans of action for the remainder of the programme. The
main goal is to be able to put the entire system, including the remaining facilities, into operation.
The more immediate goal is to obtain the permits needed to establish the encapsulation plant
and the deep repository.
Time horizon 2017
The current timetable for the two remaining nuclear facilities in the programme, up to the
start of operation of the entire system, is shown in Figure 2. The plan has been revised slightly
compared with the one presented in RD&D-Programme 2001. It shows the best estimate SKB
can make at the present time. A prerequisite for implementation is that the broad political
support enjoyed by the deep repository programme today is sustained.
It is projected that the waste management system, including an initial stage of the deep
repository, will be able to be put into operation in 2017. The initial operating phase includes
200–400 canisters, and is intended to serve as a final trial and demonstration of the method.
Initial operation will last for several years and be evaluated before a decision is made whether
or not to proceed to regular operation of the system. If the evaluation provides support for
a transition to regular operation, the latter can be commenced almost immediately. How
long regular operation then needs to continue is directly dependent on the operating times
of the NPPs. SKB’s planning assumption is that all reactors except Barsebäck 1 (shut down
in November 1999) are operated for 40 years. With an average deposition pace of about
160 canisters per year, this would mean that the deep repository would continue to operate until
the early 2050s and that the whole programme could be wound up in around 2060. The capacity
requirement for the deep repository system at full operation is set at 200 canisters per year.
At the end of 2003, just over 4,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel were in interim storage at Clab.
Plans call for the completed extension to Clab to be commissioned in the autumn of 2004. The
space that will thereby be freed for interim storage is judged to be sufficient for the needs of the
entire nuclear fuel programme, provided that the system for encapsulation and deep disposal
becomes available according to the timetable in Figure 2. If this is delayed, an additional
extension of Clab may be necessary.
Time horizon 2008
The goal for the period up to the end of 2008 is to be able to submit permit applications for the
system’s remaining two nuclear facilities. Crucial prerequisites for being able to realize this goal
are:
364 RD&D-Programme 2004