Swedes approve underground repository

The approval allows SKB, the developer of the geological disposal facility (GDF) in Sweden, to prepare for construction of the site at Forsmark site in Östhammar.

The next step is a hearing in the Land and Environment Court concerning specific permit conditions for the facility. The case will also be referred to the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority for their continued review of SKB’s further work.

When fully developed, in the 2080s, the repository will have around 60km of tunnels with space for more than 6,000 canisters of spent fuel.

Sweden already operates a repository for shorter-lived radioactive waste, which opened in 1988 and extends to a depth of 50m below the seabed of the Baltic. An application to extend this repository was submitted in 2014 and granted by the government in December 2021, following approval by the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Land and Environment Court, as well as the municipality (or local authority) of Ӧsthammar.