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Status report of the Finnish spent fuel geologic repository programme and ongoing corrosion studies
Author(s) -
Salonen Timo,
Lamminmäki Tiina,
King Fraser,
Pastina Barbara
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
materials and corrosion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.487
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1521-4176
pISSN - 0947-5117
DOI - 10.1002/maco.202011805
Subject(s) - spent nuclear fuel , radioactive waste , waste management , high level waste , containment (computer programming) , corrosion , bedrock , engineering , underground storage , forensic engineering , environmental science , geology , materials science , metallurgy , computer science , geomorphology , programming language
Posiva Oy is preparing to submit an operating licence application for a spent nuclear fuel geologic repository located at Olkiluoto, Finland. The construction licence for the underground disposal facility and encapsulation plant was granted in 2015 and construction of the disposal facility began in December 2016. Safe disposal is achieved by the KBS‐3 concept, developed in collaboration with Posiva's Swedish counterpart, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co, (SKB). The KBS‐3 concept consists of disposal canisters (a cast iron insert and a copper overpack), surrounded by swelling bentonite and disposed in crystalline bedrock. The copper overpack ensures containment of radioactive materials and its performance against corrosion is a key driver for the design of the engineered barrier system and the repository overall. This paper describes the current status of the Posiva programme, recent learnings from the construction of the repository, and the implications for the long‐term performance of the canister.