Stockholm - As more and more countries are considering introducing nuclear power, there is a need to find "good solutions" for the spent radioactive waste, former International Atomic Energy Agency head Hans Blix said Tuesday. "Each state has responsibility for its own nuclear waste," he told a conference on nuclear waste management, but there is also a need to consider international solutions or regional cooperation.
Another speaker, Ju Wang, head of the Beijing Nuclear Research Institute of Uranium Geology, noted how China's nuclear programme is growing significantly and by 2020 the current 11 reactors are expected to number 32.
But the expansion of nuclear programmes also underlines the need to find solutions for long-term waste storage. Or as Wang expressed it to the audience's amusement "when building a house do not forget to build toilets."
Some 7,200 tons of high-level radioactive waste is generated each year worldwide, illustrating the need to find solutions, according to statistics presented by the conference host, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB).
Eight countries operating nuclear reactors - Sweden, Finland, the United States, Canada, France, Britain, Germany and China - shared their experiences at the conference.
A common theme was that the countries are looking at deep geological repositories, Claes Thegerstrom, head of SKB, said.
Local municipalities will play a key part in the process, and engaging public opinion is key to securing backing for the envisaged solutions - and sites.
For the past 30 years, SKB, which is funded by the operators of Sweden's 10 current nuclear reactors, has developed a method to store the spent fuel in cannisters that are 5 metres high, have a diameter of 1 metre, and weigh some 20-25 tons.
Pending final approval from the Swedish government, regulatory and environment authorities, the cannisters would be stored at a depth of 500 metres in granite bedrock at a planned final repository.
"We feel after 30 years of research, our method is mature enough to be assessed," Saida Laarouchi-Engstrom of SKB said.
The Swedish agency is soon due to announce its choice of location for the final repository of spent nuclear fuel, marking a new phase in Swedish nuclear history.
Two municipalities, Oskarshamn in south-eastern Sweden and Osthammar north of Stockholm, are vying for the repository. Both are already home to nuclear reactors
"The main task for us politicians is to create an inclusive and transparent process," Jacob Spangenberg, head of Oskarhamn municipal council, said.
Other speakers included local politicians from communities in Finland, Britain and Canada that have or are considering hosting waste repositories and experts from agencies involved in finding safe waste solutions such as SKB.
