Finland sets to bury nuclear waste in a geological repository for 100,000 years

Finland sets to bury nuclear waste in a geological repository for 100,000 years, creating the world´s first geological tomb that will store spent nuclear fuel, becoming “a model for the entire world.”

How Finland will bury nuclear waste

Next year or in early 2026, Finland will bury spent nuclear fuel in watertight canisters, deposited more than 400 metres below the Finnish forests, disposing of a huge amount of highly radioactive waste. The durable canisters will be kept underground for thousands of years, in complete isolation from humanity. 

“Onkalo” (Finnish for a small “cave”), will become the long-term disposal facility to store the nuclear waste, on the island of Olkiluoto, approximately 240 kilometres from Helsinki. The company Posiva is in charge of managing the final disposal of nuclear waste and is jointly owned by nuclear power company TVO and utility Fortum. 

“Basically, the Onkalo project that we´re building is an encapsulation plant and disposal facility for spent fuel. And it´s not temporary, it´s for good,” said Pasi Tuihimaa, head of communications for Posiva to the Press. He named the project a “renaissance” in nuclear energy, highlighting; “Having a solution for the final disposal of spent fuel was like the missing part of the sustainable lifecycle for nuclear energy.”

Global significance of Finland´s plans to bury nuclear waste 

For years, environmentalist groups have argued about the negative impact and expenses of the nuclear industry. Today, nuclear energy produces about nine per cent of the world´s electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association. Professor of radiochemistry at the University of Helsinki Gareth Law explained to the Press; “I work both in nuclear waste disposal and nuclear accidents and I have experienced the best and worst of what the nuclear industry can offer.” 

Law called Finland´s initiative a “big milestone” for the world, stating; “Posiva are very correct in selling this as a world first. It is going to be the first repository to take spent nuclear fuel and dispose of it in what I think is going to be a very safe and robust manner into the future.” 

Changing the future; Finland´s plans to bury nuclear waste

The Onkalo project relies on the so-called KBS-3 method, developed by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company, based on a multi-barrier principle, where several engineered barriers are placed to ensure the long-term safety of nuclear waste.

Making such a transformation, Finland´s project will finally address the years of global debate on the use of nuclear energy. Despite the financial price and radioactive threats, nuclear power is likely to continue playing an integral part in the global energy mix, and although a small nation, Finland became the first country to develop a method disposing of nuclear waste for the 100,000 years to come.

“It is a way to showcase that such a small nation sometimes is able to solve one of humankind´s maybe top 20 problems or challenges,” said Finnish Climate Minister Kai Mykkänen.