2012:65 Technical Note, Review of the Nuclear Criticality Safety of SKB’s Licensing Application for a Spent Nuclear Fuel Repository in Sweden

The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company in 2011 applied to the Swedish government for approval of a proposed solution for disposal of used fuel from Swedish nuclear power reactors and some relatively minor quantities of other fissile material.

This Technical Note contains results of a recent nuclear criticality safety review of the overall prospects of the application being able to meet regulatory requirements.

A number of issues have been identified for further elaboration. Such issues include safety criteria, safety margins, method validation and potential criticality accident consequences.

The overall conclusion is that adequate nuclear criticality safety can be obtained without causing unacceptable side-effects (e.g. radiation doses, use of natural resources, contamination, lost benefits to society from the activity).