On the right track? Technology, geology and society in Swedish nuclear waste management

Although many countries with nuclear power have opted for geological disposal as the ultimate solution to the problem of nuclear waste, many of them face great problems in implementing their policies. However, at the same time as the responsible agencies in many countries ponder on how to find siting strategies that are politically and publicly acceptable, Sweden has to a large degree succeeded in implementing its policy for nuclear waste management (NWM). Facilities for the final storage for low- and intermediate-level waste and the interim storage for high-level waste have been located, constructed and put into operation without any strong opposition at either national or local level. Furthermore, the work during the last decade to find a place for the final disposal of high-level waste has also been done without any great impediments. The aim of this paper is to analyse Sweden's nuclear waste management, in particular why it seems to have been so easily implemented. By a historical analysis of some formative phases in its development, it is shown that even if the development of NWM has been carried out with explicit reference to scientific findings, it is better understood as an active adaptation to demands from different stakeholders. This adaptation, however, has basically been of a strategic kind, aiming to pilot an already formulated policy rather than open it up for negotiations and substantial changes. By way of conclusion, the question is raised whether this strategy will continue to pave the way for locating the final disposal for spent nuclear fuel, or whether it will turn out to be a cul-de-sac.