Sharp hammer blows against mountains. Geologist Øystein Nordgulen is standing at a bathing place in Halden municipality and hitting. Then he picks up a catfish he has just dislodged and begins to study it. What can this stone say about the future of Norwegian storage of nuclear waste? Geologist Øystein Nordgulen takes a look. Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke/news He looks for traces that reveal what the bedrock beneath our feet is like. Are there a lot of cracks? Or are they solid cases? The goal is to find a safe place to store Norway’s most radioactive waste. Nuclear waste is stored temporarily Norway has been researching nuclear power for 75 years. This has resulted in almost 17 tonnes of high-level waste, which it is by no means possible to dispose of at the nearest landfill. Where is Norwegian nuclear waste stored? Temporary storage at Kjeller and in Halden: It has not been decided where the highly active spent fuel from the nuclear reactors will be finally stored. Currently, they are located in the places where nuclear research has been carried out. Himdalen in Viken: The majority of radioactive waste in Norway is from industry, research institutes, hospitals, the Armed Forces or consumer goods such as ionic smoke detectors. This is low- or intermediate-level waste and is stored in Himdalen in Aurskog-Høland. Last year, an overview was made of suitable places to store this permanently. This week, geologists from the Norwegian Geological Survey (NGU) began the job of gathering more knowledge from the field. – What we are planning for is to store the material forever without people needing to supervise it, says sector director Martin Andreasson in Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning (NND), which is responsible for cleaning up after Norway’s nuclear activities. Sector director Martin Andreasson in NND. Photo: NND/Veronika van Groningen Banning imports Today, there are no nuclear reactors left in operation in Norway. Nevertheless, according to NND, it still costs around one million kroner every single day to maintain and look after the remains of the activity. In total, it could cost around NOK 21 billion to clean up. In an international perspective, the scope in Norway is nevertheless small. Sweden expects that they will have as much as 12,000 tonnes of used fuel from their energy production. Last year it was decided that it will be stored at a depth of 500 meters north of Stockholm. Finland has already come a long way. – Can’t we ask Sweden or Finland to store our waste too? – It is a tempting thought, but international conventions state that each country must take responsibility for its own waste. There is also legislation in Sweden and Finland that prohibits the import of high-level waste, says Andreasson. Cooperation agreement with municipalities The search for the best and safest mountain massif in Norway is thus underway. But for now, the geologists only have concrete plans to explore the area around Halden and Aremark in Østfold. Geologist Ida Hilde Gunleiksrud takes pictures of rock formations at a bathing place in Halden. Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke/news – Does this mean that there will be storage in this area? – No, it doesn’t. But you have to start somewhere, and there are many arguments for starting here, says Martin Andreasson in NND. He points out that many people with great expertise in the field live in Halden, that there is a cooperation agreement with the municipality and that it will possibly be a short distance to transport the waste. But Andreasson emphasizes that the investigations that are now being carried out are only about gathering knowledge – not deciding where in Norway a facility should be located. – If there is no suitable geology here, then we will not go ahead. We must be sure that we can create solutions that are safe, he says. Geologist Øystein Nordgulen uses a notebook and compass, as he learned when he started his job. But he also has modern equipment hanging by his side. Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke/news Must endure new ice ages Although geologist Øystein Nordgulen (67) has started work to explore places where Norway’s nuclear waste can be stored, he is unlikely to be with us all the way. – When this comes to fruition, I will probably have been retired for many years. But we have young people with us who can take this further, he says. But it is also not certain that the much younger colleagues Ida Hilde Gunleiksrud and Mikis van Boeckel can follow the project to the finish line. According to NND, a facility for the final storage of radioactive waste is calculated to be completed in 2070. While the other two geologists closely study the rock, van Boeckel walks around the forest to see how the previous ice ages have shaped the surroundings. Geologist Mikis van Boeckel is interested in how the ice ages have affected the landscape. Photo: Christian Nicolai Bjørke/news The storage time for nuclear waste is so long that it must be taken into account that new ice ages will occur. – If we find a place that was not affected by the last ice age, the probability is less that it will be affected by the next one, says van Boeckel.
ttn-69
Geologists explore mountains that can store Norway’s nuclear waste – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
