Military and Nature an Environmental History of Swedish Military Landscapes

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Military and Nature an Environmental History of Swedish Military Landscapes Henrik Strömsten Military and nature An environmental history of Swedish military landscapes Master’s thesis in Global Environmental History 1 2 Abstract Strömsten, H. 2016. Military and nature: An environmental history of Swedish military land- scapes. Uppsala, Dept of Archaeology and Ancient History. This thesis, an environmental history of a selected number of Swedish military training environments, is based on observation of military landscapes with a permanent presence of military-related objects and activities, all of which leave their traces in the environment, and how continued military activity is legiti- mised with environmental arguments. By also observing military policies and documents, I look into how the Swedish military frame their own training environments, and how ‘environmentalist’ discourses is adopted to justify past and present activities. The military landscapes must also be considered in a wider context of geopolitics and security; hence I also include an historical analysis of military land appropria- tion and defense policy in Sweden. An important contribution with this thesis, besides provide a Swedish context to studies of military landscapes, lies also in testing a historical ecological framework in analyses and methods when approaching research on military landscapes, as I consider this thesis as a pilot-project on Swedish military landscapes providing incentives for further studies. The Swedish military landscapes studied in this thesis have both a centennial and decadal presence of military activities. Some training sites such as Marma and Revinge, which are also Natura 2000 areas, have had a military presence since the 19th century, and the various military structures and buildings pro- mote a kind of military biography, an identity tied to landscapes, reinforcing military presence. The presentation of military sites as ecological refuges for rare species and habitats is evident in the manage- ment plans for the studied landscapes. The way military space is understood, legitimised and produced from the perspectives of the military policy level is, as I will argue, centred on two core motivations. First, it is that military presence in a landscape is the product of a militarisation processes, considering a geopolitical context and defense policies. The military presence has long-term effects in form of an altera- tion of physical nature and development of a high biodiversity. Second, the long-term positive effects, enhances an environmentalist discourse within the military when it comes to legitimise past and present military space, and to justify a continued military presence in a landscape. Keywords: Military landscapes, Military geography, Swedish military, Historical ecology, Event ecology, Discourse analysis, Environmentalism Master’s thesis in Global Environmental History (60 credits), supervisors: Anneli Ekblom & Karl-Johan Lindholm, Defended and approved spring term 2016-06-09 © Henrik Strömsten Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626, 75126 Uppsala, Sweden 3 4 Acknowledgements It has been a long journey; I have been exhausted, frustrated, sad and happy. But now I have now finally completed this thesis. I could not have done it without the support from my supervisors at the Department of Archaeology and Ancient history, Anneli Ekblom and Karl-Johan Lindholm. Their many insights and support helped me formulating this thesis. My fellow student colleagues at the Master’s programme in Global Environmental History have, during many joint supervisory sessions, contributed with feedback necessary for my progress. Similarly, the friendly staff environment at CEMUS, the Centre for Sustainable Development at Uppsala University, with colleagues has helped me raising questions and issues concerning this thesis. I also want to acknowledge Bo Larsson at the Fortifications Agency, and the environmental co- ordinators, Anna Bäckman and Patrick Ericsson, and Anders Sverin, with the Swedish Armed Forces, who helped me answer questions and allowed me inside the military sites. Finally I want to acknowledge all friends and family who has supported me in this endeavour. You all have my unbounded gratitude and love. 5 List of abbreviations ACE = Arctic Challenge Exercice AFV = Armoured Fighting Vehicle ATA = Antiquary-Topographical Archive (Antikvarisk-topografiska arkivet) CBRN = Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear DMZ = Demilitarized Zone EU = European Union FMV = The Swedish Defense Material Administration (Försvarets Materielverk) FOI = The Swedish Defense Research Agency (Försvarets forskningsinstitut) FORTV = The Swedish Fortifications Agency (Fortifikationsverket) LedR = The Command and Control Regiment (Ledningsregementet) LG = The Royal Life Guards (Livgardet) MB = The Swedish Environmental legislation (Miljöbalken) MoD = Ministry of Defense Sweden (Försvarsdepartementet) MOUT = Military Operations in Urban Terrain NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization NEAT = North European Aerospace Test Range QRA = Quick Reaction Alert RAÄ = Swedish National Board of Heritage (Riksantikvarieämbetet) SOG = Swedish Special Operations Task Group (Särskilda operationsgruppen) UN = United Nations UNESCO = United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ÖMAS = Training- and environmental adjusted management plan (Övnings- och miljöanpassad skötselplan) 6 Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 9 1.1.1 Introducing military landscapes .................................................................................................. 9 1.1.2 Why researching military landscapes? ..................................................................................... 11 1.1.3 Research aims, limitations and disposition ............................................................................... 12 1.2 Research context .............................................................................................................................. 14 1.2.1 Environmental histories of war ................................................................................................. 14 1.2.2 Research on military landscapes ............................................................................................... 16 2. Theories and methods ............................................................................................................................. 20 2.1 Definitions of landscape ................................................................................................................... 20 2.1.1 Cultural landscape .................................................................................................................... 20 2.1.2 Military landscape .................................................................................................................... 21 2.2 Theoretical approach ........................................................................................................................ 22 2.2.1 Historical ecology: frameworks of landscape studies ............................................................... 22 2.2.2 Military geography ................................................................................................................... 24 2.2.3 Structuration ............................................................................................................................. 24 2.2.4 The making of military space ................................................................................................... 25 2.2.5 Power ........................................................................................................................................ 27 2.2.6 Military-environmentalism ....................................................................................................... 27 2.2.7 Cultural heritage ....................................................................................................................... 28 2.3 Methods ............................................................................................................................................ 29 2.3.1 Field studies .............................................................................................................................. 29 2.3.2 Phenomenology ........................................................................................................................ 30 2.3.3 Textual analysis ........................................................................................................................ 31 2.3.4 Sources...................................................................................................................................... 31 3. Contextual analysis of military land and space transformation .............................................................. 33 3.1 Background ...................................................................................................................................... 33 3.1.1 Defense capabilities .................................................................................................................. 33 3.1.2 Legal appropriation of military lands: national interest of training areas ................................
Recommended publications
  • The Purpose of the First World War War Aims and Military Strategies Schriften Des Historischen Kollegs
    The Purpose of the First World War War Aims and Military Strategies Schriften des Historischen Kollegs Herausgegeben von Andreas Wirsching Kolloquien 91 The Purpose of the First World War War Aims and Military Strategies Herausgegeben von Holger Afflerbach An electronic version of this book is freely available, thanks to the support of libra- ries working with Knowledge Unlatched. KU is a collaborative initiative designed to make high quality books Open Access. More information about the initiative can be found at www.knowledgeunlatched.org Schriften des Historischen Kollegs herausgegeben von Andreas Wirsching in Verbindung mit Georg Brun, Peter Funke, Karl-Heinz Hoffmann, Martin Jehne, Susanne Lepsius, Helmut Neuhaus, Frank Rexroth, Martin Schulze Wessel, Willibald Steinmetz und Gerrit Walther Das Historische Kolleg fördert im Bereich der historisch orientierten Wissenschaften Gelehrte, die sich durch herausragende Leistungen in Forschung und Lehre ausgewiesen haben. Es vergibt zu diesem Zweck jährlich bis zu drei Forschungsstipendien und zwei Förderstipendien sowie alle drei Jahre den „Preis des Historischen Kollegs“. Die Forschungsstipendien, deren Verleihung zugleich eine Auszeichnung für die bisherigen Leis- tungen darstellt, sollen den berufenen Wissenschaftlern während eines Kollegjahres die Möglich- keit bieten, frei von anderen Verpflichtungen eine größere Arbeit abzuschließen. Professor Dr. Hol- ger Afflerbach (Leeds/UK) war – zusammen mit Professor Dr. Paul Nolte (Berlin), Dr. Martina Steber (London/UK) und Juniorprofessor Simon Wendt (Frankfurt am Main) – Stipendiat des Historischen Kollegs im Kollegjahr 2012/2013. Den Obliegenheiten der Stipendiaten gemäß hat Holger Afflerbach aus seinem Arbeitsbereich ein Kolloquium zum Thema „Der Sinn des Krieges. Politische Ziele und militärische Instrumente der kriegführenden Parteien von 1914–1918“ vom 21.
    [Show full text]
  • FULLTEXT01.Pdf
    TRITA CSC-A 2007:18 ISSN 1653-5723 KTH School of Computer Science and Communication ISRN KTH/CSC/A--07/18--SE SE-100 44 Stockholm ISBN 978-91-7178-791-0 SWEDEN Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av Kungl Tekniska högskolan framläg- ges till offentlig granskning för avläggande av teknologie doktorsexamen i datalogi onsdagen den 12 december 2007 klockan 13.00 i sal F3, Lindstedtsvägen 26, Kungl Tekniska högskolan, Valhallavägen 79, Stockholm. © Carl Lundberg, december 2007 Tryck: Universitetsservice US AB iii Abstract There are a number of professions in which exposure to life threatening risks is part of daily routine and robots could possibly be used to avoid some of these. In fact, there are applications in which this is already done, the most prominent being bomb disposal and mine clearing. The user testing of new technology is part of achieving similar benefits for other tasks. Methods for use need to be explored, technical solutions have to be trialed, and advantages gained must be compared to the loads imposed in order to guide future development and to determine if the new tools are ready to be deployed. This thesis has performed such feasibility tests on robots within Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). The aim has been to gain a comprehensive view of a potential user and to embed a robot amongst them in order to assess its tactical feasibility and evaluate its technical performance. An army company specialized in urban operations made up the primary user group and an iRobot Packbot Scout was the robot system in focus.
    [Show full text]
  • CDSG Special Tour to Sweden's Defenses
    CDSG Special Tour to Sweden’s Defenses August 25th to September 3rd, 2021 – Four Months Out One of Three Adjoining Tours Terry McGovern The CDSG and FSG have organized special overlapping tours to Sweden’s defenses in 2021 (subject to developments with the COVID-19 pandemic). This is due to each group’s different focus, mode of transport/lodging, and duration of tour. By providing these tour options, we hope to better serve each of our member’s needs. These tours are being organized by Sweden’s leading fortification tour expert, Lars Hasson, and his tour company, Bunker Tours. He has designed a 9-day tour to the “best” of Sweden’s modern defenses for the CDSG which would take us across the breath of Sweden. He is also organized an 8-day tour for the FSG that would overlap with the CDSG tour so our two groups would travel together for 4 days. You could attend just the FSG tour or just the CDSG tour or both tours for a total of 13 days. Lars has also organized a 2-day “pre-tour” for those who want to see the Cold War defenses around Copenhagen. If you joined all three tours you would have 15 days of both Swedish and Danish fortifications and artillery. The CDSG’s 9-day tour is planned to start and end at Stockholm’s International Airport. You would need to book and pay for your own flights. The round-trip fare from Washington, DC, recently was $1,033 via Iceland. We would use shared rental cars as the size of the tour group would be limited to around 20 members.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Cincinnati
    ! "# $ % & % ' % !" #$ !% !' &$ &""! '() ' #$ *+ ' "# ' '% $$(' ,) * !$- .*./- 0 #!1- 2 *,*- Atomic Apocalypse – ‘Nuclear Fiction’ in German Literature and Culture A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTORATE OF PHILOSOPHY (Ph.D.) in the Department of German Studies of the College of Arts and Sciences 2010 by Wolfgang Lueckel B.A. (equivalent) in German Literature, Universität Mainz, 2003 M.A. in German Studies, University of Cincinnati, 2005 Committee Chair: Sara Friedrichsmeyer, Ph.D. Committee Members: Todd Herzog, Ph.D. (second reader) Katharina Gerstenberger, Ph.D. Richard E. Schade, Ph.D. ii Abstract In my dissertation “Atomic Apocalypse – ‘Nuclear Fiction’ in German Literature and Culture,” I investigate the portrayal of the nuclear age and its most dreaded fantasy, the nuclear apocalypse, in German fictionalizations and cultural writings. My selection contains texts of disparate natures and provenance: about fifty plays, novels, audio plays, treatises, narratives, films from 1946 to 2009. I regard these texts as a genre of their own and attempt a description of the various elements that tie them together. The fascination with the end of the world that high and popular culture have developed after 9/11 partially originated from the tradition of nuclear fiction since 1945. The Cold War has produced strong and lasting apocalyptic images in German culture that reject the traditional biblical apocalypse and that draw up a new worldview. In particular, German nuclear fiction sees the atomic apocalypse as another step towards the technical facilitation of genocide, preceded by the Jewish Holocaust with its gas chambers and ovens.
    [Show full text]
  • Networks and Alliances
    THE CONTEMPORARY ART DAYS SUMMIT 2018 NETWORKS AND ALLIANCES samtidskonstdagarna.se/en 14–16 November 2018 Boden/Luleå 13 November Pre-summit visit to Kiruna The Contemporary Art Days is the annual contemporary art summit that brings together art professionals from across Sweden and other countries to discuss current issues for art organisations. In 2018, for the first time, the summit is organised under the aegis of the Public Art Agency Sweden. This year’s summit will focus on building networks and alliances as strate- gies for action in contemporary art organisations today. The last few years have witnessed a large increase in organisational networks across the art field in Sweden. Whether formal or informal, on a local or national scale, with Nordic or international counterparts, alliances are formed in a variety of constellations between art institutions, self-organised initiatives and other organisations. Are these networks signs of the signature strategy of the neoliberal working world? Or are they responses of mutual support and solidarity by small and mid-size art organisations in the changing political landscape and precarious economic conditions? Or are today’s networks merely new forms of age old tools for building assemblies around mutual concerns? The Contemporary Art Days 2018 presents a diverse programme comprising guest speakers, performances, site visits and workshops that will examine a variety of ways of working with networks and building strategic alliances. The summit is held in the region of Norrbotten in the north of Sweden. A preview of the 2018 Luleå Biennial is included in the programme, as well as a pre-summit site visit to Kiruna, a mining town that is being relocated and rebuilt.
    [Show full text]
  • ICV20 A-Intro Stolt.Pub
    Marcia Vexillum — vexillology and military marches Lars C. Stolt Vexillology and military music have many points in common. The military banners and colours being the visual signs in the battle field correspond to the audible signs repre- sented by the regimental calls and marches. The military marches have often established a connection with vexillological items as flags, banners and colours to the mutual advan- tage. Music instruments like bugles, trumpets and kettle drums are often provided with banners, and march titles often refer to flags and colours and their symbolic values. The internationally best known example of a march with flag connection is The Stars and Stripes forever. It was written by the American ‘march king’ John Philip Sousa, returning from Europe 1896 in the ship Teutonic. The march was born of home- sickness and conceived during Sousa's journey home. David Wallis Reeves, by Sousa called ‘The father of band music in America’, wrote in 1880 his Flag March, based on ‘The Star Spangled Banner’. Further American flag marches are Flag of America (George Rosenkrans), Flag of freedom (Frank Pan- ella), Flag of Victory (Paul Yoder), Under the Stars and Stripes (Frank H Losey) and Under One Flag (Annibale Buglione). The rich German march world presents many flag marches. The German ‘march king’ Hermann Ludwig Blankenburg offers several: Mit der Siegesbanner, Mit Parade- flaggen, Unter dem Friedensbanner, Unter Freudensfahnen, Unter Kaisers Fahnen, Unter Preussens Fahne and Unter siegenden Fahnen. Other German flag marches ema- nate from the well known composer Franz von Blon: Mit Standarten, Unter dem Sieges- banner and Flaggen-Marsch, the last mentioned having a title in the United States with another, more specific meaning: Under One Flag.
    [Show full text]
  • STRATEGIC FORUM National Defense University
    January 2020 STRATEGIC FORUM National Defense University About the Authors Håkon Lunde Saxi, Ph.D., is an As- Baltics Left of Bang: Nordic sociate Professor at the Norwegian Defence University College. Bengt Total Defense and Implications Sundelius is a Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the Swedish Defense University. Brett Swaney is an for the Baltic Sea Region Assistant Research Fellow in the Center for Strategic Research, Institute for Na- tional Strategic Studies, at the National by Håkon Lunde Saxi, Bengt Sundelius, and Brett Defense University. Swaney Key Points ponsored by the U.S. National Defense University (NDU) and the Swed- ish National Defense University, this paper is the second in a series of ◆◆ Nordic states (Norway, Sweden, and Finland) efforts to enhance Institute for National Strategic Studies Strategic Forums dedicated to societal resilience through unique the multinational exploration of the strategic and defense challenges faced by “total defense” and “comprehen- S sive security” initiatives are unlikely the Baltic states. The December 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy described to change the near-term strategic Russia as “using subversive measures to weaken the credibility of America’s com- calculus of Russia. Over time, how- ever, a concerted application of to- mitment to Europe, undermine transatlantic unity, and weaken European insti- tal defense in harmony with Article tutions and governments.”1 The U.S. and European authors of this paper, along 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty will with many others, came together in late 2017 to explore possible responses to aid in the resilience to, and deter- rence of, Russian hostile measures the security challenges facing the Baltic Sea Region (BSR).
    [Show full text]
  • Two Diplomats and People in Need
    Diplomats and People in Need To be used by the Brazilian Embassy in Stockholm 3 Diplomats and People in Need © Fábio Koifman and Jill Blonsky The two articles were written for this book and donated by the authors, for which the Embassy of Brazil expresses its profound gratitude. The cover photograph of Raoul Wallenberg. Sweden, 1944 is from US Holocaust Memorial Museum Printed by: ScandBook AB, Falun 2014 ISBN: 978-91-637-5781-5 Published by the Brazilian Embassy in Stockholm, 2014. Para uso da Embaixada da República Federativa do Brasil 4 Preface A vision of humanity and responsibility In the late 1930s, society as a whole − and public opinion − had not yet fully embraced the idea of and attention to human rights and was not consistently engaged in humanitarian assistance. With the exception of the endorsement by a relative few, as the International Red Cross (1863), Save the Children (1919), those concepts became widely accepted only decades later. The League of Nations, an outcome of the Versailles Treaty of 1919, already had failed in its mission to protect citizens and maintain peace and was replaced with the establishment of the United Nations only in 1945, which in turn took a long time to become effective in the field of International Humanitarian Law. But in those troubled times when States failed to guarantee the integrity of their civilian citizens, men and women of principle acted on their own to defend the dignity and survival of many people, and among those heroic individuals were two great diplomats, a Brazilian and a Swede, who are exemplars of two very important traits for the career: diplomacy requires both passion and perspective.
    [Show full text]
  • Heraldiska Vapen Inom Det Svenska Försvaret Heraldry of the Armed
    Heraldiska vapen inom det svenska försvaret Heraldry of the Armed forces of Sweden av/by Christian Braunstein MBE Statens Försvarshistoriska Museer The National Museums of Military History Skrift/Publication nr 9 Omslag:: Livgardets heraldiska vapen Cover: The Lifeguards coat Statens Försvarshistoriska museer och författaren ISBN 91-971584-9-6 Ansvarig utgivare: Christina von Arbin Bilder: Riksakivet och Statens försvarshistoriska museer Tryckeri: Elanders Tofters AB, Östervåla 2006 2 3 INLEDNING/PREFIX Sveriges två nationella heraldiska vapenbilder benämns stora The two Swedish national heraldic emblems are named respektive lilla riksvanet. Dessa vapen är de enda som är skyd- the Royal coat of arms and the Swedish minor coat of dade i lagen. Heraldiska nämnden skall konsulteras och god- arms. Only these two arms are protected by law. The REGISTER känna nya förslag där dessa vapen igår. Försvarsmakten är för Board of Heraldics must be consulted and approve new övrigt den enda myndighet som har rätt att nyttja stora riksvap- suggestions regarding the use of these coat of arms. net (idag anvnds det dock enbart på Livgardets och Livregem- Moreover the Armed forces are the only governmental Förord/Prefix 3 Marinen/Marine 49 ntenas fälttecken). Inledning/Introduction 5 Ledning/Command 49 authority which is allowed to use the Royal coat of arms Central ledning/High command 13 Marinbaser/Maine bases 49 (today it is only used on the colours and standards of the Stödjande myndigheter/Supporting authorities 14 Flottan/Navy 51 Life Guards and the Life regiment). Kustartilleriet/Coastal artillery 52 Armén/Army 18 Skolor/Schools 55 National authorities are the only ones allowed to use the Ledning/Command 18 Flottans fartyg/Ships of the Navy 57 royal crown.
    [Show full text]
  • Kingdom of Sweden
    Johan Maltesson A Visitor´s Factbook on the KINGDOM OF SWEDEN © Johan Maltesson Johan Maltesson A Visitor’s Factbook to the Kingdom of Sweden Helsingborg, Sweden 2017 Preface This little publication is a condensed facts guide to Sweden, foremost intended for visitors to Sweden, as well as for persons who are merely interested in learning more about this fascinating, multifacetted and sadly all too unknown country. This book’s main focus is thus on things that might interest a visitor. Included are: Basic facts about Sweden Society and politics Culture, sports and religion Languages Science and education Media Transportation Nature and geography, including an extensive taxonomic list of Swedish terrestrial vertebrate animals An overview of Sweden’s history Lists of Swedish monarchs, prime ministers and persons of interest The most common Swedish given names and surnames A small dictionary of common words and phrases, including a small pronounciation guide Brief individual overviews of all of the 21 administrative counties of Sweden … and more... Wishing You a pleasant journey! Some notes... National and county population numbers are as of December 31 2016. Political parties and government are as of April 2017. New elections are to be held in September 2018. City population number are as of December 31 2015, and denotes contiguous urban areas – without regard to administra- tive division. Sports teams listed are those participating in the highest league of their respective sport – for soccer as of the 2017 season and for ice hockey and handball as of the 2016-2017 season. The ”most common names” listed are as of December 31 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • Sweden: Our Future Defence
    SWEDISH GOVERNMENT BILL 2004 / 05:5 A SUMMARY Our Future Defence – The focus of Swedish defence policy 2005–2007 Production: Swedish Ministry of Defence Graphic design: Typisk Form designbyrå Printed by EO Print, Stockholm, October 2004 Paper: Scandia 2000 Item no. Fö2004.03 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 5 Security policy starting-points 6 The UN 7 The EU 8 NATO / PFP 8 Peace-promoting efforts 9 The focus of Swedish defence policy 10 Developments in Swedish military defence 12 New planning instructions for the Swedish Armed Forces 13 International capability 14 A network-based defence 14 The issue of personnel supply is central to Sweden’s defence reform 15 A new national service training system 15 Officer training 16 Personnel costs and downsizing 16 Reserve officers 17 Gender equality in the armed forces 17 Voluntary defence organisations 18 Military equipment issues 18 Research and technical development (RTD) 18 National niches 19 International cooperation 19 Support to the Swedish export trade 20 Decommissioning 20 VÅRT FRAMTIDA FÖRSVAR 3 The basic structure of the Swedish Armed Forces 20 Reduced expenditure 21 The most important changes 21 Joint total defence authorities 28 Further development of overall crisis preparedness 29 Conscripts completing civilian national service 30 A new set of funding principles for crisis preparedness in society 31 International civilian peace-promoting, confidence-building and humanitarian operations – civilian aspects of crisis management 31 Financial management in expenditure area 6: Defence and preparedness
    [Show full text]
  • Feasibility Studies – Östhammar, Nyköping, Oskarshamn, Tierp, Hultsfred and Älvkarleby Summary Report Technical Report TR-01-16
    Feasibility Studies – Östhammar, Nyköping, Oskarshamn, Tierp, Hultsfred and Älvkarleby Summary Report Technical Report TR-01-16 Feasibility Studies – Östhammar, Nyköping, Oskarshamn, Tierp, Hultsfred and Älvkarleby Summary Report Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB June 2001 Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co Box 5864 SE-102 40 Stockholm Sweden Tel 08-459 84 00 +46 8 459 84 00 Fax 08-661 57 19 +46 8 661 57 19 ISSN 1404-0344 Graphium Norstedts Tryckeri, 2001 gggggg Feasibility Studies – Östhammar, Nyköping, Oskarshamn, Tierp, Hultsfred and Älvkarleby Summary Report Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB June 2001 2 Preface Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Com- pany), SKB, has carried out feasibility studies on a municipal scale as a part of the siting programme for the deep repository for spent nuclear fuel. Final reports describing the results of the six feasibility studies in Östhammar, Nyköping, Oskarshamn, Tierp, Älv- karleby and Hultsfred were submitted during the autumn and winter of 2000/2001. With this as a basis, the siting work can now proceed to the next phase – site investigations. In this stage, investigations that include test drilling will be conducted on at least two sites. In December 2000, SKB published the report “Integrated account of method, site selec- tion and programme prior to the site investigation phase,” in which SKB stipulates where they want to conduct site investigations and how they will be carried out. The report is being reviewed by the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate during the first half of 2001. Before the site investigations can be initiated, the go-ahead is required from the national safety authorities, the Government, and concerned municipalities and landowners.
    [Show full text]