Safety is assessed at many stages

The long-term safety of final disposal is evaluated in the context of the final disposal facility’s decision-in-principle application, building permit application (2015), operating licence application and permit/licence discontinuation. In all phases, Posiva will provide STUK with documentation largely pertinent to the safety case for final disposal. This documentation includes reports that compile the justifications and conclusions regarding the safety of the final disposal.

The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) issued a preliminary safety assessment in 2000, before the Finnish Government approved Olkiluoto as a final disposal site for spent nuclear fuel by means of a decision-in-principle. The decision-in-principle phase also involved an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

The Government granted Posiva the permission to build the final disposal facility in November 2015. In the statement it provided to the Ministry of Employment and the Economy in February 2015, STUK stated that Posiva’s final disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel can be constructed in a safe manner.

Posiva’s construction of the final disposal complex, as specified in the final disposal solution, has progressed to Olkiluoto. As regards the EKA final disposal project, the final disposal solution (concept, above-ground encapsulation plant and undergrand final disposal facility ONKALO® will be licensed according to the procedures and provisions imposed on nuclear facilities in the Nuclear Energy Act.

After the receipt of the operating licencee for the final disposal complex, a periodic safety assessment must be conducted at least every 15 years.

In the context of plant decommissioning, the final disposal facility will be granted permission for final closure, at which point the state will be assume responsibility for the follow-up monitoring of the final disposal.

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