SFR Forsmark
The SFR Forsmark ( Swedish S lutförvar F ör R adioaktivt avfall ) is a repository for the reception of low and medium level radioactive waste from the Forsmark nuclear power plant . It is located 60 m deep in the rock made of crystalline rocks below the Baltic Sea in the municipality of Östhammar , where the Forsmark nuclear power plant is also located. The majority of the waste comes from the operation of the Swedish nuclear power plants, a smaller proportion from research and medicine.
Two 1000 m long tunnels lead from the above-ground buildings to four storage chambers and a cylindrical cavity with a concrete silo . The chambers are intended to receive low-level and some medium-level radioactive waste, and the bulk of the medium-level radioactive waste is to be stored in the silo. The current storage capacity of the repository is 63,000 m³. An expansion by a further 30,000 m³ is planned at a later date. To accommodate decommissioning waste, an additional expansion to around 200,000 m³ is required in the long term. The repository was built from 1983 to 1988.
The operator, Svensk Kärnbränslehantering (SKB), also prepares permit applications for the construction of a repository for spent nuclear fuel rods , i.e. H. for high-level radioactive waste, at this location. In accordance with the Swedish Nuclear Energy Act, they must first demonstrate their expertise. This proof must be renewed every three years. After that, she will probably be able to submit the necessary applications in March 2011. In the event of a positive outcome, construction can be expected to begin in 2015 and commissioning of the repository in 2025.
criticism
An international group of researchers presented their own studies in the science magazine Catalysis Letter . These suggest that copper dissolves in water in the absence of oxygen. "Copper reacts with chlorides and sulfides, but also with the water molecule itself." "In our experiments we can show that corrosion occurs 1,000 or even 10,000 times faster than SKB indicates in its so-called safety analysis." The containers could therefore disintegrate faster than expected, and highly toxic nuclides could get into the groundwater and thus to the surface. "The jacket of the copper capsule would have to be one meter thick in order to withstand a period of 100,000 years", "especially since the corrosion in the first phase is additionally promoted by the radiation due to the high temperatures", warned Peter Szakálos, materials researcher at the Königlich Technical University (KTH) in Stockholm.
The Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March 2011 once again shook confidence in nuclear technology in Sweden. Numerous environmental associations and the Swedish Greens criticize the building application for the Forsmark repository as premature. Alerted by a research dispute, the Swedish supervisory authority responsible for the approval has appointed an international commission of experts.
Individual evidence
- ↑ DBE GmbH: Worldwide activities ( Memento of the original from August 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ SKB prepares permit applications for the construction of a repository for spent nuclear fuel rods ( memento of the original from November 15, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b quoted from zeit.de on May 3, 2011: A rock for radioactive eternity; In Sweden, the construction of the world's first repository for radioactive waste is almost a done deal. But researchers doubt the security concept . Article by Alexander Budde
Coordinates: 60 ° 24 ′ 12 ″ N , 18 ° 10 ′ 0 ″ E