Sweden selects site

The Swedish nuclear fuel and waste-management company SKB has selected Forsmark as the site where the final repository for Sweden's spent nuclear-fuel will be built.

Once completed, all spent nuclear-fuel from Swedish nuclear power-plants will be disposed of in the repository, at a depth of nearly 500m.

SKB said that the Forsmark repository will require less space than a repository in Laxemar, an alternative site that was under consideration.

The company will now prepare an environmental-impact assessment and a safety analysis of the repository, which will be reviewed by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Swedish Environmental Court.

SKB has already applied for a building permit to develop an encapsulation plant adjacent to its existing interim storage facility in Oskarshamn.

That facility will encapsulate the spent nuclear fuel before it is transported to the final repository.

The selection of the Forsmark site is the result of almost 20 years' work, during which SKB conducted surveys throughout Sweden and feasibility studies in eight of the country's municipalities.

The Forsmark facility is expected to accept the first deliveries of spent nuclear-fuel by about 2023.