Lessons Learned from Decades of Waste Characterisation, Management and Deposition in Finland

Finland has been operating four NPPs and one research reactor for decades, including efficient and safe management of radioactive waste streams. Currently VTT and Fortum are in the process of decommissioning the FiR 1 TRIGA Mark II research reactor located in a university urban campus area of Espoo, Finland.
VTT is the operator of the FiR 1. The license for decommissioning of FiR 1 was granted on 17th of June 2021 by the Finnish government, preceded by a detailed planning and licensing phase. A major step before obtaining the license has been the open call for tender by VTT for finding the company to dismantle the FiR 1 and to take care of the radioactive waste management. The agreement between VTT and Fortum was signed in March 2020. As an operator and license holder of Loviisa NPP, Fortum has decades of experience on management, treatment and handling of radioactive wastes. Starting already from construction of Loviisa NPP Fortum has developed and maintained strong in-house nuclear engineering competences covering also planning and engineering of decommissioning.
Fortum‘s competences on this sector have more recently strengthened and extended by experiences on large nuclear decommissioning projects via intensified Fortum-Uniper cooperation. Dismantling of the FiR 1 research reactor will serve as an important test case for VTT, Fortum, and Finland in general, being the first nuclear facility facing decommissioning. FiR 1 decommissioning and waste management will benefit from the long history of the waste management in Finland, including existing LILW repositories, one of them operated by Fortum.