Wednesday 22 August 2018

Finnish firms join forces for safe management of Chinese radioactive waste

Finnish firms join forces for safe management of Chinese radioactive waste

Finnish companies Fortum and AINS Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the safe management of radioactive nuclear waste in China.

The nuclear industry in China is rapidly expanding, with 20 new reactors expected to be added to the existing fleet of 38 reactors by 2020.

The firms claim Finnish nuclear power plant operators were one of the first in the world to construct the final repository for spent nuclear fuel and run the underground disposal facilities for low and intermediate waste since 1990’s.

Fortum owns and operates a nuclear plant in Loviisa, about 80 kilometres east of Helsinki, with its own underground disposal facility for radioactive waste - AINS Group helped with the design.

Dr Jari Tuunanen, Head of Nuclear Waste at Fortum said: “At Loviisa, low and intermediate level waste (LILW) from normal plant operations and plant decommissioning is processed and disposed of at the nuclear power plant site by Fortum’s personnel.

“This minimises the need for transportation of the waste and makes it possible for us to optimise the LILW management from generation to the disposal.”

The agreement also enhances co-operation between other organisations in Finland, including VTT and Posiva Solutions.

Last month, MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee backed government proposals to store radioactive nuclear waste under national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONBs) in the UK.

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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