THE SWEDISH SYSTEM FOR FINAL DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE-WASTE

The owners of the Swedish power reactors have through its company SKB the primary responsibility for the management of radioactive waste fro m nuclear power production. Short-lived waste has been disposed of sin ce 1988 in a facility constructed in the bedrock formation below sea l evel, 1 km from the coastal site of the Forsmark nuclear plant. The pr eferred concept for final disposal of long-lived waste, in particular of spent fuel, is based on multi-barrier principles. It has been propo sed to locate the repository about 500 m down in the Swedish bedrock, which mainly consists of old crystalline rock of granite type. The env isaged disposal method and the planned process of finding a site for t he repository are discussed in some detail.