Public acceptance and real testing of a nuclear repository

Abstract

A local referendum and national polls show predominant distrust of the current disposal concept for spent nuclear fuel in Sweden. Plain neglect of in-place testing and monitoring of repository performance may be a contributing factor. The long periods of time involved in safe disposal call for thorough study of the potential and limitations of accelerated tests. The variation in some rate-determining factors attainable in an open repository suggests that results may be obtained which after backfilling would need periods of time comparable to those required for decay of the most harmful, strongly sorbed radionuclides. Focus should be on the isolation and containment of radionuclides in the accessible nearfield, rather than on nuclide release and transport through the inaccessible farfield. Tentative approaches are outlined, regarding nearfield groundwater control and barrier performance, and the local geochemical record, for decisions before excavations start, before development of disposal areas in a repository, and before emplacement of spent fuel, and also for monitoring performance thereafter. All tests should provide input to a strict and public licensing procedure, which ensures that no phase in disposal can be seen as a point of no return endangering future generations.