Sweden: Policy and Licensing

Radioactive waste management Sweden: Policy and licensing An update of projects and the new framework for regulation by Alf Larsson, Kjell Andersson, and Stig Wingefors In Sweden, as in other countries having large nuclear power programmes, radioactive waste management is Legislative and regulatory framework closely connected to the organizational structure of According to Sweden's Nuclear Activities Act (which nuclear power generation and the division of responsibility was introduced in 1984 and superseded the Atomic Energy Act of 1956), the producer of nuclear waste has between utilities and governmental organizations. the responsibility for its management and final disposal. Nuclear power in Sweden is generated in 12 stations To own and operate a nuclear power station, the owner located at four sites along the coastline. The Parliament's must carry out a research and development programme, decision following the 1980 referendum — that the the content of which must be presented to the Govern- ment every third year. The National Board for Spent nuclear power programme should be limited to 12 stations Nuclear Fuel has the important task of commenting on phased out by the year 2010 at the latest - affects the this programme and also of obtaining comments from nuclear waste volume. But it has no principal influence nuclear safety authorities. on the execution of the appropriate waste handling The Nuclear Activities Act regulates the safety of programme. nuclear power production and radioactive waste management. The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate has the responsibility to supervise that organizations handling Reactor sites and Studsvik fissile material and radioactive waste implement the Under Sweden's Nuclear Activities Act, the stipulations of the law and corresponding regulations. The Radiation Protection Act, which was introduced responsibility for management and final disposal of in 1958, is under revision. The law is basically for the nuclear waste rests with waste producers. (See protection of workers and the general public from all accompanying box for review of legislation and regula- types of radiation hazards. It covers radiation from tion.) Utilities using nuclear power to produce electricity handling radioactive materials, as well as radiation from have the responsibility for the radioactive waste created X-ray and gamma-emitting equipment. It also covers the safety of using other equipment emitting electromagnetic during production. waves. The National Institute of Radiation Protection For other types of radioactive waste (for example, supervises the Act's implementation. from hospitals and laboratories) the situation is not Costs related to waste management are proposed to entirely clear, however, pending revision of the Radiation the Government by the National Board for Spent Nuclear Protection Act. Studsvik Energiteknik AB, as a service Fuel. The Board proposes a fee on nuclear power production that utilities then must transfer to a special to hospitals and research laboratories, takes care of their governmental fund. The fund is stipulated to cover present waste for a fee. In practice, they then also take over the and future handling of radioactive high-level waste and long-term responsibility for final disposal. On the other spent fuel, as well as decommissioning of nuclear power hand, the company does not assume responsibility for reactors. disposal of ashes from its incineration of low-level waste It is not possible here to analyse the relationships from nuclear power plants. created between competent safety authorities to solve different problems on waste management. It is obvious Conditioning and intermediate storage of low- and that the authorities, though established according to intermediate-level waste (LILW) is done at reactor different laws, must have very close co-operation to be stations. A similar handling scheme exists at the Studsvik able to cover all safety aspects in a consistent manner. research establishment. Both bituminization and This close relationship has many practical implications on day-to-day work. Although authorities collaborate, the incorporation into cement is employed for conditioning. fact that they are separate entities must be kept in mind Three reactor sites have intermediate storage facilities by the utilities. for LILW above ground. At one site (Oskarshamn), an Recently, the Government chose to enhance the intermediate storage facility for medium-level waste has importance of co-operation between safety authorities been excavated in rock. At Studsvik, another facility in and the National Board for Spent Nuclear Fuel for the long-term waste management programme. A special rock for intermediate storage of medium- and long-lived advisory committee on nuclear waste was set up that wastes has recently been put into operation. includes personnel from the three authorities, as well as scientists from universities and other non-nuclear organizations. Messrs Larsson, Andersson, and Wingefors are on the staff of the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate, Stockholm. IAEA BULLETIN, SPRING 1986 41 Radioactive waste management reprocessing of fuel from the two reactors, Barsebeck-2 and Ringhals-3. Later on, additional contracts were concluded for new reactors. Consequently, reprocessing contracts amounted to about 10% of anticipated fuel discharges from the total nuclear programme up to the year 2010. The Government sent KBS-1 (the background study for the management of high-level waste) for comments to a number of domestic and foreign organizations. Comments made by Swedish safety authorities were considered to be especially important. (As a result of the comments and the 1980 referendum, the nuclear power programme of 12 reactors was established.) Vitrified high-level waste (HLW) from reprocessing was declared to be a waste form that could be safely disposed Through national and international co-operation, Sweden Is of in Swedish bedrock, although no site was specifically conducting research for final disposal of high-level wastes, with sites to be explored to 1990. (Credit: SKB) selected for the purpose. As a second step, SKB also made a study (KBS-2) on direct disposal of spent fuel without reprocessing. This Handling facilities study, however, was not connected to any application for new reactors to be put into operation. KBS-2 also In 1974, power utilities operating or building nuclear was sent for comments to a number of organizations in stations formed a special company - the Swedish Sweden and abroad. Nuclear Fuel Supply Co. — which, as a primary task, had A third study on direct disposal of spent fuel (KBS-3) to handle those parts of the nuclear fuel cycle that contained the necessary background material for the could profit from concerted action. One important duty last two reactors, Forsmark-3 and Oskarshamn-3, was the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. to receive their operating permits according to the At the time the company was established, attention Nuclear Activities Act. For this study, SKB presented was mainly directed towards reprocessing of spent fuel. much more recent material from field investigations, With the introduction in 1977 of the "stipulation laboratory research, and theoretical work as compared law", the need for greater emphasis on waste management to the earlier studies. KBS-3 also was reviewed by became apparent.* A special project organization — different Swedish and foreign organizations, with the KBS — was formed, which at first was only formally most comprehensive comments delivered by the connected to the Swedish Nuclear Fuel Supply Co. Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (the Inspectorate).* Later, KBS became an integrated part of it. The change As a result of SKB's massive effort and the positive is now reflected in the name, which recently became the response expressed in comments, the Government gave Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company its consent that legal requirements were fulfilled and the (SKB). The company is entirely financed by its owners. two reactors could be put into operation in 1984. Activities related to spent-fuel management and decommissioning are covered by a special fund created by fees on nuclear power production. SKB handles Spent-fuel facility practically all matters connected to radioactive waste Already at an early stage, the necessity was recognized and spent fuel outside the nuclear power plants. to store large amounts of spent fuel from Sweden's different reactor sites, irrespective of the fuel's reproces- Background studies sing or direct disposal. For that reason, one main undertaking of SKB was to get permission to build an Initially, SKB made two studies (KBS-1 and KBS-2), intermediate storage facility for spent fuel, called CLAB. but only the first one was connected to stipulations in SKB chose a site close to the Oskarshamn nuclear power the 1977 law mandating the safe management of plant for the purpose. Following the positive response radioactive waste. At the time, utilities represented in SKB chose to sign contracts with the French company, Coge"ma**, for the * See review of KBS-3, Plan for Handling and Final Storage of Unreprocessed Spent Nuclear Fuel, DS I 1984:17, Ministry of Industry, Stockholm (1984); Fuelling Licenses for Forsmark-3 * The law made it mandatory for the reactor owner to show and Oskarshamn-3 (in Swedish), DS I 1984:19, Ministry of that radioactive waste or spent fuel could be managed in an Industry, Stockholm (1984); Review of Final Storage of Spent

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