unsaveSave
expand-left
full screen Radioactive waste in Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB’s final repository in Forsmark must be removed from the repository as there is a risk that it is misplaced and must be moved to intermediate storage. Archive image. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
Radioactive waste may have been sorted incorrectly and now needs to be picked up from the final repository – and perhaps moved. There is a risk that it is more dangerous than previously thought.
75 containers of nuclear waste may have been incorrectly deposited in Forsmark’s final repository for short-lived nuclear waste. The Radiation Safety Authority now demands that seven companies responsible for the waste check the contents, something P4 Uppland was the first to report on.
The waste, which is from the period 1980 to 2001, was considered at the time to meet the requirements for final disposal. But already in 2012, investigations were carried out of waste that had not been placed in a final repository, and then the documentation did not agree with the content.
– It was discovered that the waste contains long-lived nuclides and the final repository is not built for it. There are several uncertainties surrounding the fact that it may contain liquids of other chemical and biological materials that are not permitted in the final repository, says Jenny Zettersten, inspector at the Radiation Safety Authority, to TT.
Consequences in 100 years
This is about 2,844 barrels with 100 liters of waste per barrel. As it stands today, it is not dangerous, but there are risks for the future, says Jenny Zettersten.
– The content of radium can give large doses of radiation further on in 100 to 1,000 years if someone were to drill a well there, she says.
For over a decade, it has been an open case with multiple investigations. This has now resulted in the companies Barsebäck Kraft AB, Ringhals AB, Forsmarks kraftgrupp, OKG AB, AB Svafo, Studsvik Nuclear AB and Cyclife Swden AB having to pick up the waste.
May need to be moved
The companies must re-examine the waste to determine whether it can be returned to the final repository or whether it must be sent to an intermediate storage facility. Several investigations have also been carried out on the risks of a transfer.
– The containers are in poor condition, so it may be necessary to repack the waste in new ones to transport them safely.