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IAEA head visits Finnish nuclear cave

Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will on Thursday visit the world’s first permanent storage facility for nuclear waste on Finland’s west coast.

rakennusmiehiä työmaalla
Rakennusmiehiä Onkalon uumenissa. Image: Tapio Termonen / Yle

Finland’s ambitious project to bury nuclear waste in a facility meant to last 100,000 years has recently attracted a great amount of international interest.

The disposal cave is being built near the Okliluoto power plant by Posiva, a company jointly owned by energy utilities Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) and Fortum.  On Thursday, the repository will welcome the head of the UN atomic agency, Yukiya Amano.

“This is a great opportunity for TVO to show what significant projects are in progress here,” says TVO’s Communications Manager Lauri Inna. “Finland is a world leader in permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Energy solutions are contemplated in many countries, and Olkiluoto offers one solution how to take care of this.”

Amano is in Finland on a three-day visit that began on Wednesday. He is discussing nuclear security and the situation in Iran with the Finnish political leadership.

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