RD&D-Programme 2004 - SKB

Societal aspects
In order for the deep repository project to be realized, it must have political and popular support.
The concerned municipality, as well as the Government, must approve of the siting. In practice,
this means that local and national elected officials, as well as the public, and particularly local
residents, must have confidence in SKB and the nuclear waste programme.
A4.6.2 Site selection
The investigations in Oskarshamn and Forsmark are expected to be able to be completed during
2007. This will be followed by a period of analysis and compilation of results for both sites.
Based on this body of material, the site for the deep repository will then be selected, according
to the current timetable in the latter part of 2008.
The factual findings and the overall assessment for the final choice of site will be presented in
the environmental impact statement that is supposed to accompany the application for a permit
for a specific site for the deep repository. The basic requirement on the site that is selected is
that it must satisfy the environmental, safety and radiation protection criteria. The requirements
and preferences on the rock presented prior to the start of the site investigation phase will be
reviewed and possibly revised. This review will be based on the safety assessment SR-Site,
which is in turn based on the complete version of the site investigation data and the technical
risk evaluation presented in the facility description. This will be followed by an integrated
assessment of whether the safety and radiation protection requirements are met, taking into
account the uncertainties in the description of the site and its long-term safety, as well as
uncertainties in the evaluation of the technical risks.
The environmental impact statement describes the projected effects and consequences of the
impact of a deep repository on the selected site, both during construction and operation of
the repository and in the long-term perspective. Furthermore, a cross-check is made with the
Environmental Code’s rules of consideration, with environmental quality standards, and with
local, regional and national environmental objectives in order to show that the site has been
selected in accordance with the intentions of the Environmental Code so that its purpose can
be achieved with a minimum of damage or detriment to human health and the environment.
Monitoring programmes and planned consequence-mitigating measures are also reported.
If both sites satisfy the fundamental criteria – i.e. if the environmental, safety and radiation
protection requirements are met – other factors will also be weighed into the site selection
decision. The sites are then evaluated and compared with respect to certain of the preferences
described in RD&D-K and whatever additional preferences may have emerged from the
extensive investigations and consultations that have taken place up until that time. In accordance
with the intentions of the Environmental Code, preferences must be evaluated from a holistic
perspective, where the benefits of siting the facilities on the site in question are also weighed in.
A4.6.3 Alternative scenarios
Figure 10 and the plan for the site investigation phase presented above pertain to the reference
case on which SKB’s plan of action is based, i.e. that the two ongoing site investigations are
completed, that this is followed by an evaluation after which one of the sites is selected, and
that an application for a permit for this site is assembled and submitted. There are, however,
alternative outcomes that must be considered. Site investigations and subsequent site selection
are judged to be more uncertain in terms of planning than other parts of the programme. There
are basically two reasons for this. One is that knowledge of conditions at repository depth on
the candidate sites is incomplete in the initial phase. The other is the fact that the entire siting
process is heavily dependent on global factors.
400 RD&D-Programme 2004