The Netherlands must speed up its plans to store nuclear waste. This is stated by the Rathenau Institute, which advises the cabinet on the nuclear waste issue.
Two new large nuclear power stations are being built in Borssele in Zeeland. The House of Representatives also wants two more in other places. That makes the topic of nuclear waste storage a lot more urgent.
So, according to the advisory institute, the Netherlands should follow the example of other countries that are already a lot further along in their planning. Such as Finland, which came up with a high-tech way to store radioactive material deep in the ground for hundreds of thousands or even a million years.
How does storing nuclear waste work?
Nuclear power stations ‘produce’ several cubic meters of highly radioactive waste per year. In terms of size, that doesn’t seem like much. Yet it is important to put it away properly, because it is life-threatening if people come into contact with it.
The Netherlands currently stores nuclear waste from the Borssele power station safely in a bunker a few hundred meters away. But it cannot stay there permanently. The plan was always to decide on a new location before the year 2100.
But with the new government plans, waste will increase by a maximum of a factor of thirteen. That is why politicians must start making a long-term plan as soon as possible, according to the Rathenau Institute. Precisely because experiences from abroad show that making such a plan can take decades.
Underground storage in Groningen or Drenthe?
One option is to put the waste deep in our salt or clay soils. Research shows that this is possible, but is it safe enough? “That is really still far too early to say,” says Rathenau researcher Vincent Lagendijk.
Additional research is needed to answer that question. The government already wanted this in the 1970s with test drilling in Groningen and Drenthe. But residents there revolted en masse, after which the government decided to stop the test and opt for a hundred years of ‘interim storage’.
The protest at the time makes it clear that thinking about technological solutions alone is not enough, says Lagendijk. “It also requires that you take people along, inform them well, and listen to them carefully.”
The tunnels of Onkalo
Finland is a lot further along than the Netherlands. From next year, the country will store its nuclear waste in Onkalo: a tunnel system, more than 400 meters underground, in almost 2 billion year old granite.
There, the radioactive material must be safe for 100,000 to 1 million years. To give an idea of how long that is: modern humans originated 300,000 years ago.
Nieuwsuur took a look at the Onkalo tunnels:
Nuclear waste can remain in these Finnish tunnels for hundreds of thousands of years
Unlike Finland, the Netherlands does not have granite soil. So copying the technology is not possible. But in the field of citizen participation, the Netherlands can learn something from the Scandinavians.
The population was allowed to participate in decisions about the project. “There were several information sessions about the storage,” said Kai Hämäläinen of the Finnish Nuclear Safety Authority. “The municipality also had the right to veto the construction.”
Belgian security robot
Belgium also gives citizens a say in the disposal of nuclear waste. The consequences of this will soon be visible in the Flemish village of Dessel. There will be above-ground storage of less dangerous radioactive waste, for example from hospitals. At the request of local residents, a space will be created under the storage, a kind of mezzanine floor, where a robot can enter. This can take measurements and rule out whether toxic substances are leaking.
Such measurements are technically and scientifically unnecessary, says Sigrid Eeckhout of the company that manages the radioactive waste. Still, she is happy that the mezzanine floor is there. “The local population thinks it’s important. You have to take that into account.”
According to the Rathenau Institute, the Netherlands can follow Belgium as an example. Because that country is also experimenting with underground storage in clay, which is more permanent. However, it may also take years for our southern neighbors to have a definitive plan for highly radioactive waste.
