Posiva to apply for an operating licence for a spent nuclear fuel disposal facility first in the world

On 30 December 2021, Posiva Oy submitted to the Government an operating licence application referred to in the Nuclear Energy Act for an encapsulation plant and a disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel. The facility is currently under construction in Olkiluoto, Eurajoki. Posiva has been preparing for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel for more than 40 years. Its encapsulation plant is located above ground, and the fuel repository of underground disposal facility is located in the bedrock at a depth of approximately 400-430 metres. Posiva is applying for an operating licence for a period from March 2024 to the end of 2070.

According to the application, most of the spent nuclear fuel of Posiva’s owners, i.e. Teollisuuden Voima Oyj’s Olkiluoto nuclear power plant and Fortum Power and Heat Oy’s Loviisa nuclear power plant would be disposed of in Posiva’s facility between 2024 and 2070. The disposal of all the spent nuclear fuel of the Posiva owners is expected to be completed until the late 2120s according to the present nuclear power operation plans. 

Statements or opinions may be submitted from 8 February to 15 September 2022 on the website Lausuntopalvelu.fi, by e-mail to [email protected] or by letter to the Registry of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The address of the Registry of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is PO Box 32, FI-00023 GOVERNMENT. The visiting address is Ritarikatu 2 B, 00170 Helsinki. 

Please include the register number VN/34352/2021 in all statements and opinions. Any statements and opinions presented will be published at the bottom of this page and will be taken into consideration in the processing of the licence application. The Ministry’s privacy policy is available here: https://tem.fi:8443/en/privacy-statements

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment requests a statement on the safety of the encapsulation plant and disposal facility from the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK). STUK will perform an evaluation to ensure that the encapsulation plant and disposal facility have been built according to plans, that the nuclear facility as a whole can be used safely, and that the personnel of the nuclear facility have been trained to operate the facility safely. The operation and maintenance of the encapsulation plant and disposal facility will be supervised throughout their service life. As an important part of its statement, STUK will evaluate the long-term safety of the facility. 

The application is available here.

More information: Linda Kumpula and Liisa Heikinheimo