Finland licenses the world's first permanent nuclear waste repository

The government granted Onkalo, in western Finland, an operating licence on Thursday. No opening date is set yet, and safety tests and inspections must come first.

Storage capacity

6,500 tonnes of uranium

The repository can hold spent fuel from Finland's five reactors.

How it works

The fuel goes into copper canisters lowered into bedrock holes, sealed with bentonite clay and a concrete plug. The waste stays highly radioactive for tens of thousands of years.