| Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
- Fact Sheet
Sweden’s Radioactive Waste Management Program
Low-level radioactive waste
Sweden disposes of low-level short-lived radioactive waste at its Final
Repository for Radioactive Operational Waste (SFR), in granite rock 50
meters (164 feet) below the Baltic Sea. The SFR is 60 meters offshore,
connected by a tunnel to the site of the Forsmark nuclear power plant
in central Sweden. The first of its kind in the world, the SFR has been
in operation since 1988. Radioactive waste will remain at SFR for 500
years, until its radioactivity is reduced to acceptable levels.
The SFR uses a multi-barrier approach to containing radiation. Some low-level
radioactive waste is put into large rock vaults of granite bedrock. Other
low-level radioactive waste is put into silos surrounded by protective
barriers of clay and concrete.
Spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste
After an initial one-year cool down period at the nuclear power facility,
spent nuclear fuel is sent to Sweden’s Central Interim Storage Facility
for Spent Nuclear Fuel, or CLAB, located in Oskarshamn in southern Sweden.
During the first 30 years at CLAB, spent nuclear fuel cools in water in
an underground rock cavern built to shield against radiation release.
Construction is underway to enlarge the facility.
Reprocessing spent nuclear fuel
Sweden’s spent nuclear fuel was sent to France for reprocessing until
the mid 1980s, when it was decided by Swedish authorities that disposal
would be less costly than reprocessing.
Transporting radioactive waste
Sweden has operated a radioactive waste sea transport system since 1985.
A specially built ship, the M/S Sigyn, carries all radioactive waste between
nuclear facilities and CLAB.
Deep geologic disposal plans
Extensive research into deep geologic disposal has been in progress since
the late 1970s. Following interim storage at CLAB, copper waste canisters
of spent nuclear fuel will be shipped to a deep repository in granite
bedrock. The canisters will be embedded in special clay called bentonite,
which will swell and encase the canisters after groundwater fills the
space between the rock and the clay.
Sweden is considering implementing its repository concept in stages. For
instance, it may place 10 percent of its spent nuclear fuel waste into
the repository, then wait for a number of years so that the emplaced waste
can be monitored and evaluated.
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
Yucca Mountain Project
1551 Hillshire Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89134
1-800-225-6972
http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov
DOE/YMP-0416
June 2001 |