A deep warehouse that will save waste until 2100

A few weeks ago, more than 1,800 nuclear waste drivers They began to emerge of the seabed on the Galician coast. The image, as real as symbolic, reopened an old debate: what do we do with the remains of an era that goes out, but does not disappear? While Galicia demands answers and surveillance, another nuclear issue advances without noise, although equally urgent: the fate of the waste that will leave the centrals when they close from 2027. Nuclear energy is out of exit. The problem is that their waste does not know how to leave.

A provisional container. The Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) has given the approval, with its conditions, to the design of the Hi-Storm FW container version G. According to the official CSN press releaseEnresa, the public company in charge of managing radioactive waste, has requested this container that will serve to temporarily store the spent Almaraz fuel, Ascó, chest and vandellós II.

It is not a definitive solution, but necessary: each unit can contain up to 37 fuel elements of pressure water reactors (PWR) or 89 of boiling water (BWR), and its role will be key during the works of dismantling between 2027 and 2035. Nuclear energy turns off, but their waste needs a place – sure – while the country decides how to bury them forever.

More in depth. This movement is part of something much bigger. According to The economist has detailedEnresa has officially reactivated the deep geological warehouse project (AGP), after almost three decades paralyzed. The first phase has already been awarded to the specialized consultant Amphos 21.

AGP is, in simple terms, an underground nuclear cemetery. As We have explained in Xatakathe objective is to isolate waste in stable geological formations for thousands – or hundreds of thousands – of years, combining natural barriers with artificial confinement technology. According to Enresathe calendar extends until 2100, and the project is divided into eight stages that cover from initial scientific studies to the construction and eventual sealed.

In early stages. Right now it is in phase one: collecting technologies, reviewing technical documentation and preparing the legislative framework that will be defined between 2026 and 2028, According to the economist. From 2029, possible locations will be selected, which will be evaluated in depth until 2039. The construction of the underground laboratory and the technical and environmental licensing process will cover up to 2059. The AGP will be operational by 2073, and will work up to 2100, when its definitive seal is expected.

All this is inspired by a specific model: onkalo, The first European AGP in Europein Finland. The project is excavated more than 400 meters deep and is designed to store waste for 100,000 years, where a century will remain open and will then be sealed irreversibly.

The electric, uncomfortable with the deadlines. But not everyone is satisfied with the calendar. As we already detail in XatakaEndesa, Iberdrola, Naturgy and EDP, owners of the reactors, have asked the government to advance the implementation of the AGP to 2050. The reason: they want to release the land from the centrals before and allocate them to new industrial uses. In parallel, they have resorted to the Supreme Court the rise of the “Enresa Rate”, which finances nuclear dismantling, considering it an unforeseen and unjustified extra cost. Business pressure puts a background debate on the table: Who should assume the real cost of nuclear energy once it stops producing electricity?

And meanwhile? After the failure of the centralized warehouse project in Villar de Cañas (Cuenca), which He was discarded by the new general radioactive waste plan. Spain has opted for a decentralized network of Silos, one by central. However, there is a problem because these stores were not designed for more than 50 years. Therefore, initiatives such as the Hi-Storm FW container are crucial: they allow to strengthen the safety of intermediate storage and gain time while the AGP becomes a reality.

And is it the only possible way? Ultimately, the best nuclear residue is the one that is not generated. Here We have talked about technologies such as nuclear fusioneven in an experimental phase, they do not generate hazardous waste. Even within the fission, there are improvement margins: molten or thorium salts reactors would allow fuel to better take better advantage and generate shorter radioactive life. But as long as those options are not profitable, the AGPs remain the only viable viable route.

A long -term challenge. Spain has decided to close its nuclear stage, but the waste does not go out with the reactor. The country faces a technical, environmental and moral responsibility that will accompany us for generations. The approval of the Hi-Storm FW container and the AGP reactivation are only the beginning of a long-term race that will be played underground. And in a world that changes every decade, few decisions require thinking of deadlines of 100,000 years. The legacy of nuclear energy forces us, for the first time, to plan as if we were going to be here forever.

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Xataka | After confirming the closure of its nuclear power plants, Spain seeks where to build a radioactive waste cemetery