Nuclear Waste Management of the Olkiluoto and Loviisa Power Plants: Programme for Research, Development and Technical Design for 2004-2006

This report is the first in a new series of reports that will be produced every three years and will describe the progress made by Posiva and the two power companies, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) and Fortum Power and Heat Oy, in research, development and technical design activities (RTD) related to the management of radioactive waste, and the proposed programme of work, which will focus on the period of the subsequent three years. The report covers both Posiva's RTD programme for spent fuel and the RTD programmes for low and intermediate level nuclear wastes (I/LLW) that are being carried out by the power companies themselves. Chapter 1 introduces the system under which nuclear wastes are managed in Finland and presents the disposal concepts for I/LLW and spent fuel. This is followed by Chapter 2, which presents a review of the past RTD activities related to the spent fuel disposal. The chapter starts with a discussion of the RTD needs and priorities for the programme for spent fuel disposal, and which sets out the background to the programme, with specific reference to the recommendations from STUK, the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority. The framework for the RTD programme is outlined and the safety concept for a KBS-3 type repository, the type that is proposed for development at Olkiluoto, is explained in terms of the primary roles and the different components of the disposal system. This, in turn, leads onto the design requirements for the repository. The rest of Chapter 2 is devoted to the current state of the RTD programme for spent fuel disposal Finland, and covers the developments that have taken place since the RTD programme that was presented in POSIVA 2000-14. Extensive information is provided that describes the progress that has been made in the past few years with regard to the ONKALO (the underground rock characterisation facility that is to be constructed at Olkiluoto), the design and technical developments associated with the repository, and its components and subcomponents, the understanding of the site, in terms of its geology, hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry, rock mechanics and biosphere, and the development of the safety case. This description includes summaries of work that are presented in more detail elsewhere, such as in the Baseline Report, that discusses the baseline conditions at Olkiluoto before the construction of the ONKALO, but also presents in one place the developments that have occurred in, for example, canister development, which are otherwise spread over many Posiva Working Reports. The developments that have taken place in the safety case are discussed in terms of Posiva's long-term aim which, in the period since TILA-99, has been to develop an understanding that will enable it to adapt the details of its disposal concept to the conditions at Olkiluoto and to develop analysis tools for the PSAR (Preliminary Safety Assessment Report), which will support the application for a construction licence for the disposal facility. In Chapter 3 the future RTD programme is presented in relation to Posiva's overall goal for this programme over the next three years, which is to make a smooth and timely progress towards the maturity needed for submitting the application for the construction licence for the disposal facility in 2012 assuming that the suitability of the Olkiluoto site for the repository can be confirmed. The discussion of the future RTD programme is presented in a similar manner to that of the current state of the programme, in that it covers the design and construction of the ONKALO, developments in design and technology, future developments in the safety case, increasing site knowledge and understanding, and increasing the understanding of both the repository near- and far-fields. Much of the description of the future site investigation and monitoring programme is, as would be expected, related to the development of the ONKALO, and there is extensive discussion regarding the site modelling that is to take place. A description is presented of an alternative disposal concept, KBS-3H, which Posiva is investigating jointly with SKB. In fact, in many areas of development, particularly in design and technical development, but also in the development of the safety case, in biosphere modelling and in increasing understanding of the near- and far-fields, there can be seen to be extensive co-operation between Posiva and SKB. Posiva's involvement in international collaborative projects, particularly in relation to near-field and far-field processes, is also described. Chapter 4 of the report presents the RTD programmes for nuclear wastes from the Olkiluoto and Loviisa power plants and Chapter 5 discusses the division of responsibilities between Posiva and the two power companies and other matters, such as QA. (orig.)