{"id":12528,"date":"2011-05-05T21:15:18","date_gmt":"2011-05-06T04:15:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?p=12528"},"modified":"2011-05-05T21:15:18","modified_gmt":"2011-05-06T04:15:18","slug":"going-underground-in-sweden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/05\/05\/going-underground-in-sweden\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Underground in Sweden"},"content":{"rendered":"

…where they actually can<\/em> get a repository built for “high-level” nuclear waste (they think)
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/em>
Follow the yellow brick road? The \u00c4sp\u00f6 Hard Rock Laboratory in Sweden. (Photo: Ingrid Becker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This summer, Climate Watch will launch a three-part radio series on the nuclear waste dilemma. As part of the reporting for that series, The California Report’s senior producer, Ingrid Becker, traveled to Sweden<\/a> to examine a program touted as a potential model for the world. This dispatch is the second part of her series preview.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>The road to \u00c4sp\u00f6 from Gothenburg, where I arrived from San Francisco, winds through a storybook landscape of small farms, lush forests and brick-red houses. Road signs warning of moose crossings pop up at regular intervals along the highways and back roads.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Traditional wooden houses like this one dot the landscape in Sm\u00e5land, the historical province where the Swedes have built a demonstration laboratory for storing spent nuclear fuel. (Photo: Ingrid Becker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And so it was a bit jarring to later find myself in a granite cavern, standing face-to-face with giant copper tubes, enormous machinery and a specially designed fuel transport vehicle quaintly named after one of the Viking gods.<\/p>\n

The trip, 340 meters (1,115 feet) below ground to the demonstration tunnel takes a full minute in a noisy and slightly bumpy elevator. Before we enter the tunnel, I must strap on a transponder, a safety precaution in case of emergency. At this point I\u2019m asking myself if I should be alarmed, but the attentive public relations officer assures me that since the facility opened in 1995, about 10,000 visitors a year have made this trek.<\/p>\n

Down in the tunnel, it\u2019s anything but scary.\u00a0 While the lab is not quite an industrial Disneyland, there is an element of showmanship here. The company prides itself on openness and bright graphics detail the plans<\/a> for storing the waste. Visitors are encouraged to touch the models and sample the salty groundwater flowing through the bedrock. During my visit we are joined by a clutch of students from a local university and researchers from the Swedish defense agency.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Tour guide \u00c5sa Nielson encourages visitors to \u00c4sp\u00f6 Hard Rock Laboratory to touch the bentonite clay that will help seal copper canisters with nuclear waste when they are stored underground. (Photo: Ingrid Becker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The waste won\u2019t actually be stored in these tunnels.\u00a0 This is what SKB calls a \u201cdress rehearsal.\u201d\u00a0 SKB has selected a site further east at Forsmark in the community of \u00d6sthammar for the permanent repository. It will take several years for the government to review the 7,000-page application<\/a> for the repository. Under best-case scenarios, construction could start in 2015. The first canisters wouldn\u2019t actually be buried until 2025.<\/p>\n

As with anything requiring this level of scrutiny, there are sure to be a lot more questions about whether the plan is really safe.\u00a0\u00a0 Before touring the lab, I met with the environmental organization dedicated to watching over the nuclear waste planning process.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Johan Swahn of the environmental watchdog group MKG, lifts a box containing some of the 7,000 pages in SKB\u2019s application for a permanent spent fuel repository. (Photo: Ingrid Becker)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MKG director Johan Swahn says six years ago when he began his watchdog role<\/a>, the repository plan seemed more assured. Today, he has his doubts.<\/p>\n

The Swedish nuclear waste company is adamant that its method will be safe, but Swahn says more concerns are being raised about whether the copper canisters could in fact corrode and leak. \u201cCopper is not all immune in those environments,\u201d he says. \u201cThe whole idea in Sweden that the industry itself is solely responsible for taking care of the waste (means that) there\u2019s no other funding for research outside industry — and that has led to a situation where we may have fooled ourselves properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Ingrid Becker continues her research in Sweden, Climate Watch senior editor Craig Miller is touring the only functioning geologic repository for nuclear waste in the US. The two will combine their reporting for the upcoming series.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…where they actually can get a repository built for “high-level” nuclear waste…they think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":262,"featured_media":12628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[390,514,570,652],"coauthors":[],"series":[],"affiliates":[],"programs":[],"collections":[],"interests":[],"class_list":["post-12528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government-business","category-power","tag-nuclear","tag-skb","tag-sweden","tag-waste"],"acf":{"template_type":"standard","featured_image_type":"standard","is_audio_post":false},"yoast_head":"\nGoing Underground in Sweden | Climate Watch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/05\/05\/going-underground-in-sweden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Going Underground in Sweden | Climate Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"...where they actually can get a repository built for "high-level" nuclear waste...they think.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/05\/05\/going-underground-in-sweden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Climate Watch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-05-06T04:15:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.kqed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/54\/2011\/05\/aspo6_sm.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ingrid Becker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ingrid Becker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/05\/05\/going-underground-in-sweden\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/05\/05\/going-underground-in-sweden\/\",\"name\":\"Going Underground in Sweden | Climate Watch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-05-06T04:15:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-05-06T04:15:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#\/schema\/person\/ca01c3d761c18b0e2387b68a445e1c9d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/05\/05\/going-underground-in-sweden\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/05\/05\/going-underground-in-sweden\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2011\/05\/05\/going-underground-in-sweden\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Going Underground in Sweden\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/\",\"name\":\"Climate Watch\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#\/schema\/person\/ca01c3d761c18b0e2387b68a445e1c9d\",\"name\":\"Ingrid Becker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/7a1a9d487c3f2bb84f32872c6208e138\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/795046840f00f7cdf9fd679c35e17a51?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/795046840f00f7cdf9fd679c35e17a51?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ingrid Becker\"},\"description\":\"Ingrid Becker is a former senior producer for KQED's statewide news service, The California Report. 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