Sweden: deal signed for building Forsmark repository

Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management (SKB) has signed an agreement with Implenia for the construction of the spent fuel repository in Forsmark. The agreement also includes the planning, design, and construction of access routes to the facility and three vertical shafts for ventilation. The repository is SKB’s largest project, and preparatory work above ground has already started at the beginning of the year. This autumn, Implenia will establish outbuildings and other necessary infrastructure. Excavations will begin after receiving the necessary approval from the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM), which is currently reviewing SKB’s safety analysis report. Overall, construction operations are expected to take approximately eight years.
SKB CEO Stefan Engdahl said the construction of the repository is a key step to dispose of radioactive waste safely. On his part, Implenia Sweden’s Jiri T Englén expressed satisfaction with being selected to collaborate with SKB on such a project. The repository in Forsmark will be at a depth of 500 metres in a mountain and hold 12,000 tonnes of used nuclear fuel contained in approximately 6,000 copper capsules surrounded by a layer of bentonite. All capsules will be deposited in tunnels that extend over six miles underground.