With his colleagues, Jinshan Pan, professor of corrosion science at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, published a study In January 2023, devoted to the risk of sulphides in groundwater corroding the copper used for used nuclear fuel containers. “More work is necessary to define (…) the nature and chemistry of surface films that develop on copper surfaces under standard conditions,” said the newspaper.
While Posiva Oy seems to have the first functional repository, other countries follow his example. Neighboring Sweden is also preparing to start working on its own repository, which is intended to contain up to 12,000 metric tonnes of Swedish worn nuclear fuel. It should extend over 60 kilometers of tunnel once finished, at a depth of 500 meters. It is a major work that has been on the drawing table for 40 years and has obtained its environmental permits necessary for construction a few months ago. Construction could begin during the next decade and will continue until the 2080s, with the underground space of this repository gradually extending – lend to the call launched by the office for the revision of nuclear waste, a Swedish NGO, does not slow down or does not stop the work. The concerns concerning the Swedish project are the same as those Finnish: danger of corrosion of copper cans, perhaps resulting in the release of radioactive elements in groundwater.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Canada also plans to build a storage installation. The repository does not yet exist, but the path to follow appears relatively without obstacles – at least there is no legal appearance. After 14 years of dialogue and debate, the relevant organizations and citizens have selected a host site in the canton of Ignatius, Ontario, which is part of the Aboriginal community The Nation of Lake Wabigoon. The city and the nation were open to the project, considering it as a source of investment and new jobs.
France and Switzerland also work on projects, gradually making progress, even if this is a question of overcoming bureaucratic obstacles. In the region of the Northeast Meuse of France, work on the ground on the Cigeo Project could start in 2027 now that he received a positive assessment of his solidity. The Andra implementation company has been authorized to continue the plans, provided that it takes more taking into account the potential impact of climate change on higher structures.
At 14, the National Cooperative of Radioactive Provision of Switzerland, Nagra, 14 years old to decide where to locate its storage installation. He chose to build his repository north of Zurich, in Nördlich Längern, because it is an area particularly rich in very compact opaline clay, which is perfect for acting as a long -term container for radioactive materials. (The Finland site is also rich in this equipment.) Final approval is expected around 2030, subject to a referendum, and the repository should start to operate by 2060.
Finally, Italy is considering 51 sites that could potentially agree to host a repository for the storage of nuclear waste. These plans were developed for the first time in 2015, then published in December 2023. The government has since decided to reopen the application process to adapt to new applications. Meanwhile, radioactive waste in the country remains stored in temporary standards on nuclear power plant sites, nuclear research facilities and nuclear medicine and industry locations.
This story originally appeared on Cable Italy and was translated from the Italian.
