Adaptation and Resistance a Repository in Finland

The project to build a final disposal repository for Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) in the municipality of Eurajoki, Finland, is approaching its 2012 deadline for the application of a construction license. As a small, typical rural municipality located in south­western Finland Eurajoki has gone through a great transformation. In the 1970s the municipality became the second location in Finland to host two nuclear power plant (NPP) units. The transformation process from a tranquil Eurajoki to a more lively nuclear community has not been without controversy. The problem of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) has been topical in the municipality ever since the 1970s. In 1995, the municipality started more serious cooperation with the power company Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) on issues of nuclear waste management. On the grounds of the cooperation the municipality issued a positive statement to Posiva Oy's (Posiva) application in January 2000 for a Decision-in-Principle (DiP) for the construction of a final disposal facility for spent nuclear fuel. When Parliament ratified the DiP in May 2001, Eurajoki became a pioneering community by accepting the siting of the repository for the disposal of SNF. The siting decision has now been taken and the project has proceeded to the so called post site selection phase. This phase started with the planning, research and development work and it is expected to continue until 2020, when the repository should start its operations. The operational phase should continue at least until 2120. It will end with the decommissioning of the aboveground encapsulation plant and sealing of the repository.

Finland’s history of nuclear power is also able to indicate the societal fluctuation of nuclear power. Recent nuclear power history can be divided into three different periods: 1) the rejection period 1986-1993, 2) the revival period of 1994–2002 and 3) the renewal period 2003–2010. The latest, renewal period 2003–2010, is characterized by an internally divided nuclear industry. A completely new power company, Fennovoima, has challenged the older two. The problem the company is now facing is that Posiva rejected the idea of disposing of spent fuel produced by Fennovoima. Fennovoima based its NPP plan on joint nuclear waste management with Posiva.

This presentation addresses the question of adaptation, acceptance and resistance both among the residents of Eurajoki and among Finnish people regarding the repository, and examines the role and contribution of social science to nuclear waste management in Finland.