Finland may be the first country in the world to heal for permanent nuclear waste

Together with his colleagues Jinseng Pan, a professor of corrosion science at the KTH Royal Technology Institute in Sweden, published a exploration In January 2023, dedicated to the risk of sulfides in groundwater corroding copper used for worked nuclear fuel containers. “More work is needed to determine (…) the nature and chemistry of surface films that develop on copper surfaces in storage conditions,” the document said.

While Posiva Oy seems to have the first functioning repository, other countries follow its leading role. Neighboring Sweden is also preparing to start working on its own repository, which aims to contain up to 12,000 metric tonnes of Swedish spent on nuclear fuel. It is expected to extend more than 60 kilometers of tunnel after completing, at a depth of 500 meters. This is the main job that has been on the drawing table for 40 years and has received the necessary environmental permits for construction only a few months ago. Construction can be started within the next decade and will continue until the 2080s, with the underground space of this storage gradually expanding – providing an appeal made by the Nuclear Waste Reviewing Service, a Swedish non -governmental organization, does not delay and do not stop work. The concerns about the Swedish project are the same as the Finnish: the danger of corrosion of copper canists, probably as a result of radioactive elements in groundwater.

On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean Canada also plans to build a storage facility. The food part does not exist yet, but the path forward seems relatively free from obstacles – at least there are no obvious legal ones. After 14 years of dialogue and debate, the relevant authorities and citizens have chosen a host in Ignaze, Ontario, part of the local Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation community. Both the city and the nation were open to the project, seeing it as a source of investment and new jobs.

France and Switzerland are also working on projects, gradually making progress, even if much of them is a matter of overcoming bureaucratic obstacles. In the area of ​​Mess in northeastern France, field work on CIGEO project It can begin in 2027 now that it has received a positive assessment of its strength. The Andra implementation company is authorized to continue with its plans, provided that it gives more attention to the potential impact of climate change on aboveground structures.

They took a National Radioactive Waste Cooperative in Switzerland, award, 14 years to decide where to find its storage facility. He has chosen to build his repository north of Zurich, in Nördlich Läger, as it is an area, especially rich in very compact dangerous clay, which is ideal for activity as a long -term container for radioactive materials. (The Finland site is also rich in this material.) The final approval of around 2030 is expected, provided that the referendum and the storage should begin to operate by 2060.

Finally, Italy is considering 51 sites that could potentially be suitable for hosting nuclear waste storage storage storage. These plans were first drawn up in 2015 and then published in December 2023. Since then, the government has decided to reopen the application process for new applications. Meanwhile, radioactive waste in the country remain stored in temporary storage facilities at the places of nuclear power plants, nuclear research facilities and nuclear medicine and industry.

This story originally appeared on Cable Italy And it was translated from Italian.