General Time Schedule for Final Disposal

Plenty of time has been reserved for the preparations and the practical implementation of final disposal. Safety of final disposal can be ensured with carefully managed preparation and implementation phases.

The first preparations for final disposal already began in the 1980s. In 2000, the Olkiluoto island in Eurajoki was selected as the site for final disposal. The construction licence application for the repository is to be submitted in 2012 and the operatin licence application in 2018. The final disposal is scheduled to start in 2020. According to current plans, the final disposal would end in 2112 and the repository would be sealed up by 2120.

The most important factor affecting the final disposal schedule is the lengthy cooling down period of the fuel. The fuel used in the plants Olkiluoto 1 and 2 and Loviisa 1 and 2 requires a cooling down period of approximately 40 years before it can be disposed of. The fuel used in Olkiluoto 3 needs to be cooled down for about 60 years before final disposal.

The plants number 6 and 7, the construction of which is yet to be decided, would not significantly affect the final disposal schedule, as their spent fuel could be disposed of simultaneously with the fuel from Olkiluoto 3. New plant units would cause the final disposal termination year to be delayed by only a few years.

Preparations for and the practical implementation of the final disposal will take place according to the schedule presented in this table:

An Up-to-Date Time Schedule