ABSTRACT

Among the proponents of nuclear power, the project for the safe and secure disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in Finland is often deemed as a success story. Opponents have had difficulties getting publicity for their claims about the risks of the project. Their most powerful arguments have been mostly ethical, but on technical issues the opponents have been in a weaker position than the proponents. However, recently the risk of corrosion in oxygen-free water has become subject to scientific controversy, possibly threatening even the realisation of the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel (Andersson, 2014: 2; Wallace, 2010). In Sweden, this issue has been intensively debated since 2007 (Andersson, 2014; SNCNW, 2013), but only recently has this debate taken off in Finland (Lempinen and Silvan-Lempinen, 2011; Nurmi et al., 2012; Litmanen et al., 2012; FANC, 2013; Klötzer et al., 2013).