The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority's safety assessment and statement on the operating licence application for spent nuclear fuel will not be completed this year. This is stated in the second tertial supervisory report for 2023
During the second quarter of 2023, the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) continued to review the operating licence application of Posiva, the company responsible for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel, supervised the commissioning of the plant and planned the supervision to be carried out during its use.
Overall, STUK has progressed well in processing the operating licence application, but the process is still ongoing. There is a significant amount of material, some of which STUK has required Posiva to update. As such, the work is taking longer than anticipated. Once STUK has completed processing the materials of the operating licence application provided by Posiva, it will draw up a safety assessment. The assessment will be included as an appendix to the safety statement prepared on the operating licence application.
The Government will make the final decision on the operating licence of the disposal facility. The licence can only be granted if STUK’s statement is favourable. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has requested STUK to issue a statement by the end of this year. The current estimate is that the statement will not be completed within that time and STUK is preparing to propose that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment postpone the deadline.
STUK's Project Manager Päivi Mäenalanen does not want to predict how long it will take to draw up the assessment. "The matter depends not only on STUK, but also on Posiva and how quickly it is able to deliver the missing material to us," Päivi Mäenalanen says.
According to her, the delay will not be dramatic. What is most important is that Posiva is able to ensure safety and demonstrate this ability to STUK and to society. According to Mäenalanen, there is nothing to suggest that this is not the case.
After receiving an operating licence, Posiva can start the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel that has already been generated and will be generated in the future at TVO's Olkiluoto and Fortum's Loviisa nuclear power plants. The operation will go on for approximately 100 years before the final disposal is permanently closed.
For additional information, please contact:
Media contacts, tel. +358 10 850 4761
