This text is older than 2 years old and could contain inactive information.

Next step following government decision

The Government’s decision on SKB’s repository system is not the last step in the licensing process. The case will now return to the Land and Environment Court and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, SSM, which will set detailed conditions for the coming activities.

– We’re looking forward to moving on to the next step in the process. There are many details that will be reviewed and approved in the coming years, both in the court and in the step-by-step review conducted by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, says Peter Selting, Head of SKB’s Department of Safety, Quality and Environment.

Following the Government’s permissibility decision under the Environmental Code, the Land and Environment Court will impose conditions for the facilities. First, the terms and conditions are negotiated, after which they are established in a court ruling.

Similarly, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority will decide on licensing conditions under the Nuclear Activities Act and the Radiation Protection Act following the government decision.

SSM will also continue to test whether SKB fulfils the radiation safety requirements in each phase. For this, SKB will need to prepare new safety analysis reports prior to the start of construction, trial operation, regular operation, decommissioning and closure. These must gain SSM approval before the next step can be initiated.

During all phases of the facilities’ life cycle, the Authority will also conduct inspections on radiation safety during operation and on long-term safety aspects.

For each facility, it is also necessary that the municipality in question decide on a detailed development plan and building permit. With the amendments made to the Nuclear Activities Act in 2020, the state will assume responsibility for final repositories after final closure. It was also introduced into the Act that a special government licence is required for closure.

SKB’s construction projects will require substantial investments, especially in the municipalities and regions concerned. Altogether, SKB will be investing approximately SEK 19 billion, mainly in the construction sector, excavation and installations. Construction of the Spent Fuel Repository is estimated to take about ten years.

– Now it’s full speed ahead to prepare for building when all permits are in place. It will be a new, intense and exciting period in SKB’s history. Now we can complete our mission to take care of the Swedish nuclear waste, says Johan Hedlund, Head of SKB’s Project Department.

News

Green light for SKB’s research programme
The Government has approved SKB’s latest programme for research, development and demonstration, RD&D 2022. Every three years, SKB presents a comprehensive research programme for the management and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. The latest version was submitted to the Swedi…

Published: 10 January 2024

Record level of support for final repository
Support for final repositories in Östhammar and Oskarshamn is stronger than ever. No fewer than 86% of residents in those municipalities support SKB’s plans to build a final repository for spent nuclear fuel in Forsmark and an encapsulation plant in Oskarshamn. This is revealed by a Novus survey con…

Published: 9 May 2023

First of SKB’s major construction projects gets underway
In around one and a half years from now, SKB plans to fire the first blasting salvo in the work to extend the Final Repository for Short-lived Radioactive Waste (SFR) in Forsmark. The repository will be made almost three times larger, so that it can receive decommissioning waste from Swedish nuclear…

Published: 6 April 2023

Swedish Court grants licence for extended interim storage in Clab
The Land and Environment Court has today granted SKB an environmental licence to increase the quantity of spent nuclear fuel in the Clab interim storage facility from 8,000 tonnes to 11,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, the licensing process under the Swedish Nuclear Activities Act continues. SKB:s vd Johan Da…

Published: 22 June 2022

The Government approves SKB’s final repository system
On the 27th of January 2022, the Swedish Government decided to allow SKB to build a final repository for spent nuclear fuel in Forsmark in Östhammar Municipality and an encapsulation plant in Oskarshamn. Johan Dasht, Managing Director of SKB. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt. – It is a historical decision …

Published: 27 January 2022

Published: 10 February 2022