Sweden's Third National Report Under the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Swedish Implementation of the Obligations of the Joint Convention

This report is issued according to Article 32 of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.<br/>Sweden signed the Joint Convention September 29, 1997, the first day it was open for signing, during the ongoing General Conference at IAEA. The Convention was ratified about two years later, on July 29, 1999 and it entered into force on June 18, 2001.<br/>Sweden has been active for many years in the international effort to enhance nuclear safety and radiation protection with regard to the operation of nuclear reactors as well as the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. The Convention on Nuclear Safety was an important first step to deal with the most immediate safety issues, i.e. the safety of operation of commercial nuclear power reactors. The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management constitutes another important step by promoting the safe handling and disposal of spent fuel and radioactive waste.<br/>The areas covered by the Joint Convention have been incorporated in the Swedish system for spent fuel and radioactive waste management for a long time. The Swedish Government considered at the time of signing the Joint Convention that the safety philosophy, legislation and the safety work conducted by the licensees and the authorities in Sweden complied with the obligations of the Convention.<br/>The first national report on the Swedish implementation of the obligations under the Joint Convention was issued in April 2003. The second national report was issued in October 2005. The reports were well received at the review meetings held 2003 and 2006, respectively.<br/>A summary of highlights and issues raised about Sweden during the second review meeting 15-24 April 2006 can be found in section A 8. This section also includes an overview of those issues Sweden was asked to report about in its third national report (the present report). A summary of developments since the last national report can be found in section A9.<br/>As was the case with the previous reports, the present report has been produced by a working group with representatives from the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI), the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI), and the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co (SKB). Before submission to the Government the report was sent for comments to other relevant authorities and the nuclear industry.<br/>It should be stressed, however, that SKI and SSI were merged into a joint organisation, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, July 1, 2008. The new authority has been tasked with the responsibility and tasks from the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate and the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority. More information in this regard can be found in section A.5.2. The formal procedure to process the national report did not allow for a proper account of the new organisational setting, as the transition period was not completed before the report had to be compiled. Thus, the report describes the situation as per June 30, 2008. Where applicable, the texts in the report have however been revised such that the division of responsibilities in the previous organisational setting are not emphasized.<br/>This report constitutes an up-dated document with basically the same structure as the previous national reports under the Joint Convention. Section A provides an overview of the Swedish nuclear waste programme, including a brief historical review, in order to give the reader a background to the current status of the programme for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste. Sections B to J include facts and information to substantiate compliance with the obligations of the Convention. Every chapter in these sections corresponds to one Article of the Convention. The chapters in sections B to J have a similar structure where information is provided about the regulatory requirements related to the respective Article. In addition, information is provided about measures taken by the licence holders to comply with the regulatory requirements as well as own safety initiatives. Finally, information is provided about the means used by the regulatory bodies to supervise the measures taken by the licence holders. Taken together this will provide evidence for meeting the obligations of the Convention.<br/>The general conclusions about the Swedish compliance with the obligation of the Convention are reported in the executive summary.