A new Swedish interim storage facility for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste has begun operating in Studsvik near Nyköping, Vattenfall has announced. The facility will initially be used for the storage of waste from the decommissioning of the Ågesta NPP near Stockholm and the R2 research reactor in Studsvik.
The facility measures about 27 metres by 90 metres, and is 20 metres high, with a capacity to store up to 10,000m3 of waste. It features a 90cm-thick concrete base plate which has been piled with 482 steel rebars that have been anchored in the bedrock. It will be used pending expansion of the final repository for nuclear waste in Forsmark.
It took two years to build the warehouse at a cost of SEK141 million ($13m), and was completed on schedule and approximately SEK30 under budget. “Safety always comes first in a nuclear power context, so I am most proud that the warehouse is safe and that no one was injured during construction. But it's clear that it's also great that we were able to keep to the planned construction time and achieve a good financial result,” said project manager Fredrik Wenström at Vattenfall subsidiary Svafo, which owns and is responsible for the facility.
After extensive preliminary studies of intermediate layers in Sweden and internationally, Svafo concluded that a solid, but structurally simple construction in partially prefabricated reinforced concrete best served the purpose. Meticulous planning of all steps in the construction and appropriate forms of contract with various suppliers ensured safety and efficiency.
Since the warehouse will contain radioactive waste, the construction had to meet strict regulations from the Land & Environmental Court and the Radiation Safety Authority. In the building permit from the municipality of Nyköping, there were additional rules and Svafo also had its own high requirements for implementation.
“We do not see the strict requirements as a limitation, but rather as an asset because they make the goal extremely clear. With the requirements as a basis, the competent and pragmatic employees here at Svafo have been able to solve the questions that arose at various stages,” Wenström noted.
The intermediate repository is important for disposal of waste from the dismantling of the R2 in Studsvik, where research was conducted from 1960 to 2005, and the Ågestaverket outside Stockholm, Sweden's first commercial nuclear power plant, which operated from 1964 to 1974.
The intermediate storage facility will take low- and intermediate-level waste, while high-level used nuclear fuel will be stored at the Swedish Nuclear Fuel Management's intermediate storage facility Clab near Oskarshamn. The demolition material is source-sorted so that non-radioactive material can be recycled, and the radioactive material is packed in radiation-proof packaging for interim storage and later final disposal.
Image: The new interim storage facility at Studsik (courtesy of Vattenfall)