Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 20 hrs ago
Finland prepares nuclear waste repository as US storage plans remain stalled
Finland has licensed the Onkalo nuclear waste facility after construction began 22 years ago.
It is designed to store spent nuclear fuel deep underground in bedrock.
Copper canisters and shock-absorbing clay are intended to contain the waste for up to 100,000 years.
The facility in Eurajoki can hold up to 6,500 tonnes of fuel before it is sealed and placed under Finnish government oversight.
The US has about 97,000 metric tons of spent fuel at nearly 75 temporary sites in more than 30 states.
Federal law identifies Nevada’s Yucca Mountain as the country’s repository, but Congress has not funded it for more than 15 years.
More than $50 billion is available in the Nuclear Waste Fund, but spending it requires congressional approval, which has been blocked by political division.
Finland’s facility offers a long-term plan, while the US has no operating permanent repository; the sources do not say what happens next with the US funds or its storage plans.
Finland’s Onkalo facility is preparing to become the world’s first permanent nuclear waste disposal site.
The Finnish government granted the facility an operating license last month, after construction began 22 years ago.
Onkalo is designed to store spent nuclear fuel in copper canisters buried 400 meters underground.
The United States has more than 90,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel at temporary sites, while its plans for a permanent repository remain stalled.
The United States’ Nuclear Waste Fund holds more than $50 billion, but spending it requires congressional approval.
- Who
- Finland is preparing to open the Onkalo repository. The United States also has a large amount of spent nuclear fuel in temporary storage.
- What
- Finland’s facility is designed for permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel, while the United States has not established an operating permanent repository.
- When
- The Finnish government granted Onkalo an operating license last month. Construction began 22 years ago.
- Where
- Onkalo is in Eurajoki, Finland. U.S. spent fuel is held at nearly 75 sites in more than 30 states.
- Why
- Finland has maintained its nuclear waste program across changing governments. U.S. plans have been held back by political gridlock and changing priorities.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Construction began at Finland’s Onkalo facility.
Finland’s government granted Onkalo its official operating license.
- Onkalo depth
- 400 meters (1,312 feet) underground
- Onkalo capacity
- Up to 6,500 tonnes (7,200 tons) of spent nuclear fuel
- Canister design life
- 100,000 years
- U.S. spent fuel
- Approximately 97,000 metric tons at nearly 75 sites in more than 30 states
- Nuclear Waste Fund
- More than $50 billion
What people are saying
But spending the money requires approval from a Congress racked by partisanship.
Onkalo is a remarkable feat of engineering. The political achievement is just as striking.
In the United States, where nuclear waste policy lurches from one administration to the next, that consistency is almost unimaginable.
political volatility has become an energy cost