The two nuclear power plant sites at Olkiluoto and Loviisa have wet storage facilities for spent fuel.
Low- and intermediate-level waste (L/ILW) has been disposed of in a geological repository for operational waste at Olkiluoto since 1992. The disposal caverns are located around 100 metres below ground surface in a crystalline rock formation. A L/ILW repository at a depth of 110 metres has also been in operation at Loviisa since 1998.
Plans for a geological repository for long-lived intermediate-level waste and spent fuel at Olkiluoto were approved by Parliament in 2001. The construction work on the site-specific Onkalo rock laboratory is practically complete. The construction licence procedure for the repository should begin in 2012 and the operating licence procedure in 2018.
Further information:
www.posiva.fi/en (Nuclear Waste Management Organisation)
www.stuk.fi/english (Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority)
Photographs available for downloading at «Databank - Pictures» on the Posiva website.