The socio-economic and communication challenges of spent nuclear fuel management in Finland: The post site selection phase of the repository project in Eurajoki

Abstract

One of the key factors behind the expansion of nuclear energy policy in Finland is nuclear waste management. As in many countries, nuclear waste management agencies are still struggling with the siting of intermediate and low level nuclear waste management facilities, in Finland Posiva, the nuclear waste company owned by the two nuclear power utilities Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and Fortum Power and Heat (FPH), has been excavating a underground characterization facility since 2004 in the Olkiluoto site in the municipality of Eurajoki. The facility under construction is meant to be for a part of the final repository for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The site selection process of the repository was launched in Finland in the early 1980s. The site selection process included different measures to inform and involve local citizens. For example, an Environmental Impact Assessment process was implemented by the nuclear waste company in the late 1990s. The siting process, which proceeded step by step, was successful as in January 2000 the local council of the municipality of Eurajoki approved the siting of the repository by 20 votes to 7. The Council of State made a favourable decision-in-principle (DiP) in December 2000 and Parliament ratified the decision in May 2001. Posiva has also applied for a decision-in-principle to extend the facility. The aim of the paper is to introduce the first observations of the survey focused on local inhabitants. The paper addresses such questions as: What are the main impacts of the repository according to local residents? How can they obtain information about the repository? Which actors are seen as reliable sources of information regarding the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel? The survey was carried out in June 2008. The respondents ( N = 3000) were selected from the residents of the municipality of Eurajoki and the neighbouring municipalities using stratified random sampling. The information provided by the survey is important as the municipality of Eurajoki is the very first municipality in the world where the views of local residents on the construction of a repository for the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel could be elicited after the decision of the site selection. The post site selection phase the municipality of Eurajoki is currently experiencing can provide information useful for other countries likely to face this phase in the future. The paper is a part of the co-operation research project of the University of Jyväskylä and the University of Tampere. The research project “Follow-up research regarding socio-economic effects and communication of final disposal facility of spent nuclear fuel in Eurajoki and its neighbouring municipalities” is funded by the Finnish Research Programme on Nuclear Waste Management (KYT2010).