The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) established a program to deal comprehensively with the waste byproducts of nuclear power generation, as well as defense-related radioactive wastes, if appropriate. Under this program, the federal Department of Energy (DOE) must locate and develop a site for disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in a geologic setting capable of isolating them from adverse public and environmental exposure for at least 10,000 and up to 100,000 years.

Finland signed the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management on 2 October 1997 and deposited the tools of acceptance on 10 February 2000. The Convention entered into force on 18 June 2001. The major generators of radioactive waste in Finland are the two nuclear power plants, the Loviisa and Olkiluoto plants. The Loviisa plant has two PWR units, operated by Fortum Power and Heat Oy, and the Olkiluoto plant two BWR units, operated by Teollisuuden Voima Oy.

This is the Finnish National Report, in accordance with the provisions of the Article 32 of the Joint Convention, to the 4th Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties in May 2012. The aim of this report is to present the recent developments of waste management in Finland, to describe waste management facilities and practices in Finland and, for discussion and review among contracting parties, to describe how the obligations under the Convention are fulfilled in Finland.

The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management was adopted on 29 September 1997 in the Vienna Diplomatic Conference. Finland signed the Convention on 2 October 1997 and deposited the tools of acceptance on 10 February 2000. The Convention entered into force on 18 June 2001. The fulfillment of the obligations of the Convention and the developments after the second Review Meeting are assessed in this report.

The Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel<br/>Management and on the Safety of Radioactive<br/>Waste Management was adopted on 29 September<br/>1997 in the Vienna Diplomatic Conference. Finland<br/>signed the Convention on 2 October 1997 and deposited<br/>the tools of acceptance on 10 February<br/>2000. The Convention entered into force on 18 June<br/>2001.<br/>The fulfilment of the obligations of the<br/>Convention and the developments after the second<br/>Review Meeting are assessed in this report.

This research report is part of the research programme International Socio-Technical Challenges for Implementing Geological Disposal (InSOTEC; see www.insotec.eu). The research programme is funded by the Seventh Framework Programme Theme [Fission-2010-1.1.2] [Research activities in support of implementation of geological disposal] (Grant agreement no: 269906).

Posiva Oy is studying the Finnish bedrock for the geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The study is based on the site selection research programme started originally in 1983. The programme is in accordance with the decision in principle by the Council of State in 1983 and aims at the selection of one site in 2000. Four sites, Hastholmen in Loviisa, Kivetty in Aanekoski, Olkiluoto in Eurajoki and Romuvaara in Kuhmo, have been studied in detail. This report summarises the results of the site investigations carried out at Kivetty.

Posiva Oy is studying the Finnish bedrock for the geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The study is based on the site selection research programme started originally in 1983. The programme is in accordance with the decision in principle by the Council of State in 1983 and aims at the selection of one site in 2000. Four sites, Hastholmen in Loviisa, Kivetty in Aanekoski, Olkiluoto in Eurajoki and Romuvaara in Kuhmo, have been studied in detail. This report summarises the results of the site investigations carried out at Olkiluoto.

The report outlines the current design and safety concept for the planned repository. It summarises the approach used to formulate scenarios for the evolution of the disposal system over time, describes these scenarios and presents the main models and computer codes used to analyse them. It also discusses compliance with Finnish regulatory requirements for long-term safety of a geological repository and gives the main evidence, arguments and analyses that lead to confidence, on the part of Posiva, in the long-term safety of the planned repository

Following the guidelines set forth by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (now Ministry of Employment and Economy) Posiva is preparing to submit the construction license application for a spent fuel repository by the end of the year 2012. The long-term safety section supporting the license application is based on a safety case, which, according to the internationally adopted definition, is a compilation of the evidence, analyses and arguments that quantify and substantiate the safety and the level of expert confidence in the safety of the planned repository.

This second version of the Olkiluoto Site Report, produced by the OMTF (Olkiluoto Modelling Task Force), updates the Olkiluoto Site Report 2004 (Posiva 2005) with the data and knowledge obtained up to December 2005.<br/>The main product of the modelling has been to develop a descriptive model of the site (the Site Descriptive Model), i.e. a model describing the geometry, properties of the bedrock and the water and the associated interacting processes and mechanisms.