Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management : 7th Finnish National Report as referred to in Article 32 of the Convention

Abstract

Summary

Introduction The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management was adopted on 29 September 1997 at the Vienna Diplomatic Conference. Finland signed the Convention on 2 October 1997 and deposited the tools of acceptance on 10 February 2000. The Convention entered into force on 18 June 2001. This report is the 7th Finnish National Report under the Joint Convention in accordance with the provisions of Article 32. It will be subject to review in May 2021 in the seventh Review Meeting of the contracting parties in Vienna. The fulfilment of the obligations of the Convention and the development of waste management after the Sixth Review Meeting, during the reporting period 2017–2019, are assessed in this report. There are currently two nuclear power plants operating in Finland: Loviisa and Olkiluoto plants. The Loviisa plant comprises two pressurised water reactor units (VVER-440) operated by Fortum Power and Heat Oy (FPH). The Olkiluoto plant comprises two boiling water reactor units (BWR 75) operated by Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) and a third unit, a pressurized water reactor (EPR) is in the commissioning phase. In addition, Fennovoima Oy (Fennovoima) has applied for a construction license for one pressurised water reactor (AES-2006) at Pyhäjoki. Spent fuel from the nuclear power plant units is stored in interim pool type storages at the power plant sites for tens of years until disposal. The interim spent fuel storages have already been in operation for about 30 years. The safety of the interim storages was enhanced during the reporting period. The spent nuclear fuel disposal project has progressed as planned. The construction license for the encapsulation and disposal facility was granted by the Government to Posiva in November 2015 and the construction of the geological disposal facility started in Olkiluoto in December 2016. Fennovoima started the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of its own spent nuclear fuel disposal in summer 2016. Geological disposal facilities for low and intermediate level waste have been in operation since the 1990s in Olkiluoto and Loviisa NPP sites. In the future, the Olkiluoto facility is planned to be extended for operational waste from the OL3 unit and decommissioning waste from all reactor units at Olkiluoto. The future at Olkiluoto includes also a new near-surface facility of the very low-level waste. Olkiluoto disposal facility is also the current route for radioactive waste originating from use of radiation in industrial, medical and research applications. The disposal facility in Loviisa will be extended for decommissioning waste from the Loviisa NPP units. Fennovoima has planned to build a geological disposal facility for its low and intermediate level waste at the Pyhäjoki site. Major developments in Finland since the 6th Review Meeting are as follows: there has been progress in construction of the spent nuclear fuel disposal facility, in addition improvements have been made in NPP’s Low and Intermadiate Level Waste (LILW) management and non-nuclear radioactive waste disposal. There has been significant progress in the licensing of research reactor decommissioning. Furthermore, the legislative and regulatory framework has been enhanced. STUK has published a new strategy in 2018 covering the period of 2018–2022. The objective of the strategy is related to enchancing risk informed and performance-based regulation and oversight highlighting licensee’s responsibility for safety. More detailed information on the latest developments in the various topics of the Convention is provided in connection with the relevant articles. Section K summarises the main achievements from the reporting period and presents Finland’s future challenges in radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel management.

Since the 6th Review Meeting The 6th Review Meeting in 2018 identified challenges and recorded some planned measures to improve the safety of nuclear waste management in Finland. On request of the Review Meeting these issues and the responses are included in this 7th National Report of Finland. The challenges and planned measures to improve the safety are listed below with the related references provided in brackets. A summary of how Finland has proceeded with the identified challenges during the reporting period is given in Section K.

Finland – Challenges • Construction and oversight of the spent fuel (SF) disposal facility (Section H, Annexes L.2 and L.3). • Decommissioning and waste management of the FiR 1 research reactor (Article 9, Article 26). • Ensuring adequate resources and competence in tough economic situations (utilities, waste management organizations, and Government) (Article 20, Article 22). • Communication with public and stakeholders to maintain confidence in safe waste management and regulatory framework (Article 20). • Disposal of a few High-Activity Sealed Sources (HASS), which are not suitable for disposal in existing LILW repositories (Section J).

Finland – Planned Measures to Improve Safety • Construction and oversight of the spent fuel disposal facility (Section H, Annexes L2 and L3). • Renewal of the ageing infrastructure of nuclear energy related research (new VTT Centre for Nuclear Safety building, thermohydraulic laboratory at Lappeenranta University of Technology). For this purpose, the research funding between 2016 and 2025 has been increased. (Article 20, National research programmes). • Licensing of FiR 1 research reactor decommissioning and preparations to dismantling activities starting in 2022. (Article 9, Article 26).

Conclusion In conclusion, based on the information presented in the report, Finland complies with the obligations and objectives of the Joint Convention. Challenges for the future have been recognized, regularly reviewed and addressed. The required efforts for continuous improvement have been made.