Finland's Onkalo, the World's First Permanent Nuclear Waste Repository, Nears Trial Operation

The article reports that Onkalo, the world's first deep geological repository for nuclear waste, is nearing trial operation in Finland. It is expected to obtain formal permits within months, marking a significant milestone in nuclear power history. Globally, nearly 400,000 tons of nuclear waste, two-thirds of which are currently in temporary storage, pose an unresolved challenge. Onkalo is situated on Olkiluoto Island, western Finland, where three of Finland's five nuclear reactors are located. Construction began in 2004, with a cost of approximately 1 billion euros (about 37 billion New Taiwan Dollars) for construction. An additional 4 billion euros (about 148 billion New Taiwan Dollars) will be required for a century of operation and final sealing. These costs will be fully covered by two Finnish nuclear power companies, which have been annually allocating funds based on electricity revenue for decades. Used nuclear fuel rods will first be encapsulated in copper containers at a surface facility, then transported by unmanned machinery into tunnels 430 meters deep, where they will be secured in 1.9-billion-year-old granite bedrock with clay layers. The facility has a total design capacity of 6,500 tons, sufficient to store all waste generated by Finnish nuclear power plants throughout their operational lifespan. The entire facility is expected to operate until the 2120s, after which the tunnels will be sealed permanently. According to the Associated Press, Pasi Tuohimaa, spokesperson for Posiva, the company responsible for Finland's long-term nuclear waste management, stated, 'This solution is precisely the missing piece for the sustainable use of nuclear energy.' However, criticism has persisted. Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States, directly stated that deep geological disposal is still full of 'uncertainties': 'There are no good options for nuclear waste disposal, but finding the least bad option is important, and geological disposal, overall, is the least bad among various bad options.' Lyman pointed out that copper containers will eventually corrode, and scientific debate continues regarding the corrosion rate. The radioactivity of nuclear waste needs up to 100,000 years to decay to harmless levels for some elements. The core assumption of the design is that the corrosion rate is slow enough for most radioactive materials to decay before the containers fail. Lyman noted that the risks will ultimately be borne by future generations. Finland reached this point due to a 1994 legal amendment: all nuclear waste within the country must be permanently disposed of domestically and cannot be exported. According to the Associated Press, Environment Minister Sari Multala said, 'We have also walked the talk, which is different from many other countries.' She added that small-scale acceptance of waste from other countries is not ruled out in the future. Although Onkalo has taken the first step, there is still a long way to go. The radioactive hazards of nuclear waste can last over 100,000 years, far exceeding the history of any human civilization. How to inform future generations tens of thousands of years from now about the dangers buried beneath their feet is currently undecided. To address this, an interdisciplinary research team comprising linguists, archaeologists, and anthropologists is dedicated to studying 'nuclear semiotics,' such as designing symbols and markers that can convey 'danger here' across millennia.