To the editor
An article – or was it a press release? – titled `South Bruce team tours Finland DGR project’ in your July 13 issue gave information which is misleading. I specifically refer to this sentence: The Onkalo DGR facility is anticipated to be operational sometime this year. This item was submitted as a “SPECIAL TO THE HERALD-TIMES.” But who is the source?
The above cited statement implies the beginning of operation this year. First of all, while attending the South Bruce Nuclear Exploration Forum in April, Tiina Jalonen told me personally that the Finnish DGR designated for spent fuel bundles would not be operational this year. Ms. Jalonen is senior vice-president for development for Posiva, which is the Finnish equivalent of the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) in Canada.
The Posiva website, as a primary source of information, spells out precisely what is happening after a 40-year development process, such as this clarification on its front page at https://www.posiva.fi/en in the section called Posiva Rocks:
“The Full-Scale In-Situ System Test (FISST) is the most comprehensive full-scale test to date. The Trial Run of Final Disposal consists of a full-scale final disposal test with the final equipment under actual conditions. The only difference to the actual situation is that the canisters do not contain spent fuel.”
A more detailed description in a section titled “Final disposal tests” point out as well: “The tunnels of the integrated system test are shorter than in actual final disposal where the deposition tunnel can be up to 350 metres long.” This can be found at https://www.posiva.fi/en/index/finaldisposal/finaldisposaltestsfisstytk.html
The news item also mentions that the team of South Bruce people who visited Finland will be preparing a report for the public and local council. It will be interesting to hear their observations and how differences are characterized between the Finnish circumstances and what the NWMO is doing in Canada.
Dr. Sandy Greer, PhD
Blyth
Editor’s note: The article in question was submitted to our paper by a community member of the South Bruce delegation to the DGR site in Finland. All information we could find, when verifying the claims made in the article, stated the Onkalo site was expected to begin operation in 2023. Information found on July 17 states the DGR is expected to begin operation in 2024.
