Finland's plan to bury spent nuclear fuel for 100k years

a year ago

Finland is constructing the world's first permanent underground storage site for spent nuclear fuel, named Onkalo, located 450 meters deep in the bedrock of Olkiluoto island.
Onkalo is designed to safely store high-level nuclear waste for at least 100,000 years, using a multi-barrier system including copper canisters, bentonite clay, and stable bedrock.
The facility will hold 5,500 tonnes of waste from Finland's five nuclear power plants over their entire life cycles, with operations expected to start in about two years.
Other countries, including the US, UK, Sweden, France, and Canada, are considering similar geological disposal solutions, but Finland is at least a decade ahead in implementation.
Debates persist about the long-term safety of the storage method, particularly regarding potential copper canister corrosion, though Posiva, the company behind Onkalo, asserts the facility's robustness.
The project has garnered international attention and praise, with the IAEA calling it a 'game changer' in nuclear waste management.
Social scientists are grappling with how to communicate the dangers of the site to future generations, with some suggesting no marking to prevent unwanted excavation.
Alternatives to geological disposal, such as deep borehole disposal or space-based solutions, are being explored, though they remain less credible or feasible at present.

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