Part 1 of 2 Parts
The Swedish government has been working on construction for a permanent geological repository to dispose of spent nuclear fuel. The repository has been sited near the coastal town of Forsmark about sixty miles north of Stockholm.
In 2011, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency initiated the Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory Across Generations (RK&M) project. The reason for the project was partly dedicated to development of a theoretical basis and partly dedicated to the development of concrete proposals, for information and knowledge preservation on the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel into the far future.
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) RK&M project ended in 2018. Its primary recommendation was that a systemic strategy should be applied to the preservation of information and knowledge about spent nuclear fuel disposal. The final report said that this will involve the use of different methods, media and content across different time scales with several actors and places. Nine categories of methods were created.
• Final repository documentation
• Memorial institutions
• Markers
• Time capsules
• Culture, education and art
• Knowledge management
• Oversight provisions
• International mechanisms
• Legal basis
SSM took the RK&M project recommendations as a starting point in the compilation of a new report. In addition to the completed RK&M project, SSM mentions that there are several other international working groups that have worked or are working on issues dealing with the preservation of information and knowledge about the disposal of spent nuclear fuel. In its new report, SSM reviews methods that could be utilized so that future generation do not inadvertently affect the final resting place of spent nuclear fuel which would harm people and the environment.
SSM believes that the RK&M project’s description of methodology and various methods for information and knowledge preservation should provide the basis for the development of a strategy for the final geological repositories in Sweden for spent nuclear fuel. At this time, there is no regulatory requirement that such a strategy must be developed in order to be able to make decisions on admissibility under Sweden’s Environmental Code and permits under the Nuclear Activities Act. However, the report says that such a strategy should be developed during the step-by-step process that follows a decision on a permit in accordance with the Nuclear Activities Act. “Important factors in the application of a strategy in Sweden are that it is started at an early stage and that it involves several different actors in the area with clear responsibilities.”
The report said, “The purpose of information and knowledge preservation after closure can in summary be expressed as reducing the probability of unintentional future human impact on the repository and giving future generations the opportunity to make well-informed decisions regarding the final repository and its contents. The latter may apply, for example, if in the future for resource reasons it would be relevant to retrieve the used nuclear fuel or to be able to take appropriate measures to protect people and the environment in the event of unexpected events if necessary.”
Please read Part 2 next