List of delegation
John Robertson MP
Jim Sheridan MP
Jamie Reed MP
Ashok Kumar MP
Bob Spink MP
Lord Oxburgh
Lord Lea of Crondall
Bill Tynan, TUSNE
Keith Parker, NIA
Linda Smith, Group Coordinator
Chris Morritt, E.ON
Ruth Greenwood, E.ON

A delegation from the All Party Group on Nuclear Energy visited Sweden in August 2008. This event was kindly hosted by E.ON and the group spent two days in Oskarshamn which is situated on the southeast coastline of the country. During this visit to the SKB’s facilities, they toured the following:

The Aspo Hard Rock Laboratory
This is the world’s largest underground laboratory, where research is being conducted on the permanent storage of nuclear waste.

The Clab Temporary Storage Facility
This facility is used for the management and disposal of waste from the Swedish nuclear power plants.

The Encapsulation Laboratory
This is a centre for canister development and the facility contains different stations for welding and testing and it is the only laboratory in the world where they test the encapsulation technology on a full scale.

Sunday 10 August 2008
The group arrived on Sunday evening, 10 August and an informal dinner had been arranged with the representatives from E.ON, Chris Morritt and Ruth Greenwood. A full pack containing helpful background information was given to the group prior to travel. During the dinner, the group had the opportunity to ask the hosts some questions and gain a greater understanding in the involvement between E.ON and SKB in Sweden.

Background information on E.ON
E.ON is the largest privately owned nuclear operator in Europe. Its nuclear business is headed up by E.ON Kernkraft which is based in Hanover, Germany. They are the major shareholder and operator of the 3 Swedish nuclear power stations in Oskarshamn and are actively involved with SKB, who are in the advanced stages of developing a permanent disposal facility for Sweden’s waste. This was the main reason for the group’s visit.

Monday 11 August 2008
On Monday morning the delegation travelled to Oskarshamn and were met and welcomed by Claes Thergerstrom, the CEO and some of his colleagues from SKB along with the Deputy Mayor, Lars Blomberg. All gave very interesting and informative presentations and the delegation took part in a lively question and answer session. After an informal lunch they were given a guided tour of Aspo’s Hard Rock Laboratory by Linnea Sandwall.

The delegation were transported to the depth of 460 metres through a main tunnel which took five years to build and opened in 1995. They spent around an hour walking through the underground facility on a guided tour. The laboratory is a popular destination to visit and each year receives more than 10,000 visitors from both Sweden and abroad.

This facility, situated on the outskirts of Oskarshamn, is conducting a full-scale research and development in preparation for the construction of a final repository for spent nuclear fuel. The group were very impressed with the experimental laboratory and it was indicated that the finalisation of this research project will lead to planning permission being sought for the construction of a deep geological facility for nuclear spent fuel.

Many other countries are working closely with the Swedes and will benefit from the research and development and conclusions of this impressive facility. Nuclear waste management and disposal is an exceedingly important topic not only in Sweden but internationally. The group were extremely disappointed to hear that although the UK was originally involved through Nirex it was not participating at a time when they are embarking on finding a solution for deep geological disposal of the UK waste legacy. The Group felt that the UK Government must take the opportunity that presents itself by becoming involved, even at this late stage, to ensure they are able to adapt, learn and implement the solutions this research can provide.

They also visited the new encapsulation laboratory which will provide the copper canisters which will be the outer container for the cast inner core. This will hold the nuclear waste in the safest way possible. The facility will be able to safely dispose of nuclear waste by placing the waste in an inner core and placed within the copper container. This will then be welded to the highest possible standards available anywhere in the world.

After rigorous tests, the ASPO experimental laboratory research provided a method of encapsulation which would provide a lasting solution to the burial of the sealed copper container within the bore hole. Once placed in the hole the copper canister, bentonite would be injected into the hole and this would act as a buffer between the rock and the canister thus ensuring absolute protection against any water ingress or rock movement.

Quotes from the delegation

Chair of the APPG, John Robertson MP
"Sweden has achieved great progress in managing nuclear waste in the most practical way and I was very impressed with the safety and efficiency of the operations I saw. I admire Sweden for how it has delivered this and look forward to the UK putting the same practical solutions into operation. Thanks to the open debate in the country and the visitor facilities where the public can see for themselves, it's an open and transparent matter and has helped gain the Swedish people's support."

Bob Spink MP
“I learnt a great deal about the options for long term waste management and storage. Whilst I understand and greatly admire the efforts being made in Sweden to establish a sustainable final solution, I believe that it may be wise to continue to hold the high level waste in interim storage in the UK pending technological and political clarification and advancements over the next few years. The Swedish solution certainly helps to remove the issue of waste management from the current decision on further investment in nuclear generation for the UK.”

Jim Sheridan MP
“The visit to Sweden was extremely informative and interesting. You could not fail to be impressed with the priority given to the safety and security of nuclear power and it’s waste. Also the involvement of the community on these issues was extremely important. I was equally impressed with the advanced engineering technological investment into research for even more storage safe storage capacity.”

Lord Oxburgh
"The Swedish experience has clearly demonstrated that there are effective engineering techniques to manage of high level nuclear wastes safely and with minimal environmental impact. What is particularly impressive in Sweden, however, is the strength of support from local communities where repositories and processing facilities are located. Special attention has been given to keeping local people informed and showing them every stage in the process."

Bill Tynan, TUSNE
“The visit to Sweden was of immense value and gave the group the opportunity to see first hand the tremendous efforts by SKB to deliver a safe and secure solution for nuclear waste disposal. Sweden and Finland are undoubtedly leading the way in terms of their efforts, considerable investment and the continued development of engineering solutions that can apply to the universal problem of nuclear waste. The decision by the UK government to accept CoRWM's recommendation for deep geological disposal is in keeping with the research being conducted in Sweden; on this basis it is important that along with other European Countries the UK become involved with the experimental laboratory project in Sweden. By participating and learning from the Swedish experience I am confident we can eliminate many of the pitfalls and obstacles the UK would face in developing a site for the disposal of our nuclear waste legacy.”

Lord Lea of Crondall
"I was very impressed by the vision and the concrete steps being take in Sweden - but I do think it is essential for the technical people to get their act together with the economists and public authorities to avoid being caught out by huge discrepancies cited in the percentage add on -ranging from 1% to 10% ( I think the answer is nearer the latter - not the lower end as claimed by SKB and E.ON but I would be delighted to be proved wrong) for the total waste package on top of the 100 units of other customer payments for nuclear generated electricity -i.e. without any cross -subsidy or other state subvention.

This is of course highly relevant to the UK situation where there is too much loose talk. We all need to use the same figures with total confidence. (or at least be in the same ball park). We do not have a hypothecated consumer tax as in Sweden for (part of) the cost but given the advent of CO2 - and other - energy taxes this arithmetic should not be too politically difficult for us to be totally open and transparent about. After all, most capital/ ongoing costs of nuclear are front- loaded but capital/ongoing costs for waste are the opposite"

Keith Parker, Chief Executive, Nuclear Industry Association
“The visit to Sweden was very worthwhile. It amply demonstrated the technical and engineering feasibility of geological disposal, and highlighted the importance of open and transparent communications to ensure public understanding and acceptance of the waste management option. I was particularly impressed by the thoroughness of the research undertaken in the rock laboratory to ensure that the actual repository will securely accommodate high level wastes. Another interesting feature was the extent of the UK contribution to the design and manufacture of the precision engineered canisters from the Welding Institute in Cambridge and [please supply company name] in Scotland. I am sure that as the UK’s waste management policy progresses lessons will be learned from the Swedish experience.”