RD&D-Programme 2004 - SKB

of the NPPs starts, however, long-lived decommissioning waste must also be dealt with. This
requires extra space, separate from Clab, where capacity problems may otherwise arise. That is
why the afore-mentioned extensions of SFR are also planned to contain chambers for interim
storage of long-lived LILW. After interim storage, the waste will be transferred to the special
final repository for other long-lived waste that is planned.
A5.2.3 Extensions at SFR
Disposal of the additional waste types that are planned for at the SFR facility imposes roughly
the same requirements on the facility itself as the operational waste that is disposed of there
today. The extensions are therefore planned to consist of a number of rock caverns, at the same
depth and of the same type as today’s. A “re-licensing” of the entire facility is also planned in
conjunction with the extension, so that the different parts can receive short-lived waste from
both operation and decommissioning. This will enable the facility to be utilized maximally.
Extension is planned to take place in three stages. A total of four rock caverns will be built in the
first stage – two for final disposal of short-lived decommissioning waste, one that can be used
for interim storage of long-lived waste, and one for final disposal of large, odd components from
maintenance and repair of the NPPs. As mentioned above, these chambers are planned to be
put into use no earlier than 2020. In a second stage, 10–20 years later, additional rock caverns
for decommissioning waste will be added. The cavern that is planned to be utilized for interim
storage of long-lived LILW will be emptied when the waste is transferred to the final repository
for other long-lived waste. This cavern can then also be used for deposition of short-lived
decommissioning waste. If needed, additional chambers for operational waste may also be built
in this time perspective.
A5.2.4 Final repository for other long-lived waste
The construction of a final repository for other long-lived waste is planned to start at a stage
when most of the NPPs have been phased out. The facility will thereby be the last one in the
entire nuclear waste programme. According to present-day plans, the repository should stand
ready for deposition in around 2045. Long-lived LILW produced before then will be interimstored
as described above.
Plans for an early safety evaluation as well as supportive research regarding the final repository
for other long-lived waste are described in Chapter 25. Site selection for this facility requires its
own siting process. In order to allow sufficient time for this process, but nevertheless ensure that
it is still relevant when the time comes to build the facility, it should, by SKB’s reckoning, be
started some time around 2025–2030. Thus, site selection is an open question today, and neither
co-siting with SFR (but at greater depth) or with the then-existing deep repository, nor siting at
an entirely new site, can be ruled out.
The long-lived LILW that will be disposed of in the facility can be described most simply as
waste in which a large fraction of the radionuclides have half-lives in excess of 30 years. The
sources are both the parts of the NPPs located in or close to the fuel, known as core components,
and Studsvik (own activities and management of waste from industry, medical care and
research). The idea is also to utilize the repository for the short-lived waste that arises when
Clab and the encapsulation plant are decommissioned. The design outlined above includes rock
caverns (similar to those in SFR but at greater depth and with important differences in technical
design) that divide the facility into three parts, corresponding to the three categories of waste to
be disposed of.
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