Swedish waste management programme

Sweden has developed a comprehensive system for the management of all wastes arising from its nuclear power production. An interim storage for spent nuclear fuel is in operation since 1985. A repository for low and medium level waste has been constructed and is in operation since 1988. Transportation of the fuel and other radioactive wastes is made by a sea transport system. The existing facilities will with some moderate expansion be sufficient to handle all radioactive wastes for a long time. An encapsulation plant for spent nuclear fuel and a repository for final disposal of a limited amount of spent fuel is planned to be built till 2008. In the repository the fuel will be isolated by multiple engineered and geological barriers. The ongoing waste management RD and D-programme is mainly concerned with questions related to the encapsulation of fuel and construction of such a repository in the granitic bedrock in Sweden. During the 1990s the emphasize will be on finalizing the development and the design of the needed facilities and on the characterization of candidate repository sites. The cost for spent fuel management including final disposal has been calculated to 4800 SEK/kg U. (author). 6 figs