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]
Geologic Hazards
Radioactive Waste Storage in Boreholes
On the Radwaste blog by Geoff, I read about Borehole Disposal of Sealed Radioactive Sources or BOSS. This technology, which is explained by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) consists of disposal of smaller quantities of radioactive waste in specially engineered boreholes 30 to 100-m (approx. 100 to 330-ft) deep in suitable geologic media. Read on for more info. (Diagram by IAEA)
Project Related
Swedish Nuclear Waste Repository Could Begin Construction in 2016
ENR reports that a nuclear waste repository for spent nuclear fuel in Sweden could begin construction as early as 2016. The facility would consist of 50km of tunnels in granite bedrock up to 500-m deep. […]
Project Related
Yucca Mountain Solution for Nevada’s Budget Deficit?
The Center for Yucca Facts has presented a letter to the chairman of the Spending and Government Efficiency Commission (SAGE) of the State of Nevada recommending that an objective look at the proposed Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository might show that it provides a solution to Nevada’s budgetary dilemmas. More after the break.