Swedish radioactive waste management company Svensk Kärnbränslehantering (SKB) has begun excavation works to extend its Final Repository for Short-Lived Radioactive Waste (SFR) at Forsmark. This followed approval in December 2024 of its safety report by Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM – Strålsäkerhetsmyndigheten).
In December 2022 SKB received an environmental permit from the Land & Environmental Court for extension of SFR, which meant that work above ground could be started. Underground work was launched with a blast 45 metres below ground, marking the start of the six-year extension project. The official launch of blasting took place together with Skanska, which is delivering the extension project in collaboration with SKB. A collaboration agreement with Skanska was signed in July 2023 regarding the expansion of the SFR.
SFR, which has been in operation since the late 1980s, stores waste, such as filters, tools and clothing used at NPPs, and materials from medical care, industry and research. When the extension is complete, the facility will also accommodate waste from the decommissioning and dismantling of Sweden’s NPPs including reactor components, concrete and other building materials.
SKB CEO Stefan Engdahl, together with Ida Tjerngren, project manager for the extension, Magnus Persson, CEO of Skanska Sweden, Fabian Sjöberg, Municipal Commissioner of Östhammar and Daniel Westlén, State Secretary to the Minister for Climate and Environment, jointly pressed the button to initiate one of the first explosive charges, symbolising the start of work.
“It feels really good that we’ve now started rock excavation in Forsmark,” said Engdahl. “The extension of SFR is an important precondition for fossil-free electricity production at the nuclear power plants, now and in the future.”
Magnus Persson, CEO of Skanska Sweden, noted: “We have a close collaboration with SKB, and this project is a great example of how successful things can be when we share expertise, experiences, and knowledge with one another.”
The existing section of the repository is at a depth of approximately 60 metres with a storage capacity of 63,000 cubic metres. The new section of the repository will be at a depth of 120–140 metres. The extension will comprise six different waste vaults, and on completion the facility will have a total storage capacity of approximately 180,000 cubic metres. The SFR extension will take about six years to complete. Initially, rock work will be performed, followed by construction and concrete work, and installations.
SKB is owned by nuclear power companies Vattenfall AB (36%), Forsmarks Kraftgrupp AB (30%), OKG Aktiebolag (22%) and Sydkraft Nuclear Power AB (12%), and has a statutory duty to deal with the disposal of Swedish nuclear waste and to pay for these operations. Both the SFR and Central Interim Storage Facility for Used Nuclear Fuel (Clab) have been in operation since the mid 1980s. Safe transport of radioactive waste from NPPs takes place using special vessel M/S Sigrid.
