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Finland’s Approach to Licensing of Geological Repository

Finland’s Approach to Licensing of Geological Repository. Tero Varjoranta Director, Nuclear Waste and Material Regulation STUK. Status after 30 years´ work. Political commitment since 1983 Clear roles and responsibilities Up-to-date regulatory framework

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Finland’s Approach to Licensing of Geological Repository

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  1. Finland’s Approach to Licensing of Geological Repository Tero Varjoranta Director, Nuclear Waste and Material Regulation STUK

  2. Status after 30 years´ work • Political commitment since 1983 • Clear roles and responsibilities • Up-to-date regulatory framework • Site selected with public acceptance 2001, 1st phase under construction • Site confirmation ongoing • Encapsulation facility and Engineered Barrier System under design, analysis and development, • Several safety assessments done Tero Varjoranta

  3. Keys to Success in Finland • Long term political commitment to resolve the issue • Clear liabilities • Well defined regulatory framework • Sustainable licensing principles • Over 30 years step-by-step regulatory process and implementation • Clear and well functioning funding scheme • Discipline Tero Varjoranta

  4. Most important: Clear political commitment to resolve the issue • Government’s strategic Decision in Principles 1983, -91, -95 • Only safe can be built, safety can not be compromised by other requirements or demands • Three step licensing • Decision-in-Principle: Public and political acceptance, local veto-right • Construction license and Operating license: Safety technical issues Tero Varjoranta

  5. Sustainable licensing principles when developing regulations (1) • “We must take care of our waste” • We must not leave nuclear waste as a burden to future generations • No future detriments exceeding currently acceptable levels • Use of today’s proven and robust technology and defence-in-depth principles • Being transparent, open and competent • International cooperation, but able to manage our nuclear waste without foreign support • Passively safe repository and no reliance on long-term surveillance • Retrievable, but safe and protective • No unjustified delays in the implementation process Tero Varjoranta

  6. Sustainable licensing principles when developing regulations (2) • Robust passively safe repository system: natural and engineered barriers • Radiation protection criteria specified separately for different time periods (Operational period, reasonably predictable future, era of extreme climate changes, farthest future) • Long time frame cycles (~100 000y) manageable in old and stable Finnish bedrock • Olkiluoto bedrock, where repository 1st phase is under construction, has experienced 19000 of these time cycles, including many glacial cycles (in Finland scientific traces seen from 7 glaciations) • mechanically stable • chemically stable • mosaic-type structure Tero Varjoranta

  7. What happens next in licensing? • 2000/2001 Decision in Principle: the Finnish Society accepted the Olkiluoto Repository • 2009 November: EU-27 Peer Review to STUK • 2012 Construction License submittal • Authorization to construct deposition tunnels, deposition holes and other underground facilities • Authorization to construct encapsulation plant& EBS components • No nuclear waste to be introduced into repository • Pre-license application (“maturity test”) by the end of 2009 • 2020 Operating License submittal • Introduction of nuclear waste into encapsulation and repository • Fixed period with full safety review at 15 y intervals (or as specified in license) Tero Varjoranta

  8. Thank you!

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