As the global nuclear fuel cycle becomes increasingly a back-end fuel cycle, an entirely new nuclear facility is being developed to handle the permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Built deep underground, taking decades to plan and many more to construct, the deep geological repository (DGR) is widely considered to be the best, safest option for long-term isolation and containment of radioactive waste minimizing the need for future maintenance. In 2015, Finland became the first country to issue a construction license for a DGR.
Stimson expert Cindy Vestergaard led a group of experts in October 2018 to visit the deep geological repository under construction in Olkiluoto, Finland. These are her field notes.