Although they are nearly at the final depth, the work thus far has been primarily to construct the 4-km long access tunnel. The facility is not scheduled to accept the nuclear waste until 2020 but once it does, it will have enough space for about 7 reactor’s worth of spent fuel for 100-years of their operation. That would put final sealing of the facility in 2120. One interesting thing that caught my attention is that according to Posiva, the agency responsible for facility, after 500 years the radiation dose standing next to one of the canisters would be equivalent to a CAT Scan. [Source: hs.fi via Ontario-geofish]
Project Related
Parsons Brinckerhoff secures nuclear disposal deal
Parsons Brinkerhoff will provide ‘technical support’ for an underground nuclear waste repository in the UK after signing a contract with the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). No details are available yet on the plan or […]
Miscellaneous
Nevada’s Yucca Mountain Case Versus DOE Thrown Out
The State of Nevada lost a major battle in their attempt to block the US Department of Energy’s attempt at licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The panel of judges in the case threw it out after a week of oral arguments by the State. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, the Judge’s ruling stated "Nevada’s legal position is incorrect."
Project Related
Inside Finland’s Nuclear Waste Repository
Finland has the world’s first commercial underground nuclear waste repository, and construction of the access works, infrastructure, and the first five disposal tunnels is essentially complete. I haven’t seen a timeline of when they will […]