TVO is committed to reduce the amount of waste and to promote its utilization. Radioactive waste is isolated from the organic environment until its radioactivity has decreased to a harmless level.
Radioactive waste
The waste produced at the power plant is classified as waste exempted from control, low and intermediate level operational waste, high level waste (spent fuel), and decommissioning waste according to its level of radioactivity.
Waste exempted from control contains such a small amount of radioactive substances that the waste can be reused or delivered to the Olkiluoto landfill for final disposal. Waste is produced in activities related to the operation and maintenance of the power plant. In 2018 the amount of maintenance waste exempted from control was 44 tons. About 123 tons of metal was also cleared for recycling.
The protective gear used in operating and maintaining the power plant, the equipment removed from the process, and the insulating materials are low level waste. They are tightly packaged and placed in the repository for operational waste (VLJ repository) located at an approximate depth of 100 meters in the plant area.
The ion exchange resins used for the treatment of the process water at the power plant are classified as intermediate level waste that is incorporated in bitumen and embedded in the operating waste repository. In 2018, 53 m³ of intermediate level waste and 92 m³ of low level waste was placed in the operating waste repository. The amount of high-level spent fuel generated during the year under review was 32.7 t. It is kept in an interim storage in Olkiluoto until it can be embedded in the bedrock of Olkiluoto for final disposal. Final disposal operations will start around 2020s. Decommissioning waste is waste produced in connection with the demolition of the power plants at the end of the operating life. The final disposal of decommissioning waste will also take place in Olkiluoto.
| Low-level (m3)1) | 92 | 47 | 86 | 171 | 59 |
| Intermediate level (m3)1) | 53 | 51 | 9 | 6 | 38 |
| Operating waste cleared after monitoring (t) | 44 | 40 | 96 | 50 | 46 |
1) Waste disposed in the VLJ repository
| Number of assemblies (pcs) | 9,122 | 8,922 | 8,720 | 8,518 | 8,304 |
| Assemblies (t) | 1,531.2 | 1,498.5 | 1,465.2 | 1,432.0 | 1,396.6 |
Municipal waste
TVO is committed to the reduction of the amount of waste and to the improvement of the reuse of waste. This is required of everybody working in Olkiluoto. All waste generated in Olkiluoto is sorted and processed. The sorted wastes are sent for reuse, and wastes not suitable for reuse go to the landfill. Hazardous waste is collected in the hazardous waste storage to be sent to an appropriate waste treatment plant.
Waste suitable for recycling or reuse as energy amounts to 89 percent of the total amount of waste, landfill waste for 2 percent and hazardous waste for 9 percent. The majority of hazardous waste consists of batteries and electrical waste. The total amount of waste was 1,898 tons in 2018. In addition, 259 metric tons of contaminated soil was transported to further processing.
| Mixed waste to energy1) | 59 | 65 | 103 | 61 | 88 |
Landfill waste to TVO's landfill
| 44 | 41 | 45 | 54 | 78 |
Paper and cardboard
| 49 | 50 | 74 | 90 | 99 |
| Energywaste | 102 | 132 | 114 | 94 | 86 |
| Biowaste | 57 | 50 | 64 | 65 | 55 |
Wood
| 108 | 99 | 67 | 59 | 93 |
| Metal | 208 | 107 | 77 | 99 | 85 |
Cable refuse
| 23 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 7 |
Glass
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Crushed brick and concrete
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Screening | 36 | 79 | 61 | 72 | 35 |
Hazardous waste
| 53 | 62 | 64 | 72 | 102 |
| Sludge2) | 1,038 | 933 | 807 | 555 | 597 |
1) Since 2017, mixed waste has been taken to a
waste-to-energy plant where it is used to produce district heating and
electricity.
2)
Sludge from waste water treatment plant, (solid matter 8-10%, is not counted
into the total waste amount)
| Mixed waste to energy1) | 173 | 168 | 118 | 70 | 93 |
| Landfill waste to TVO's landfill | 0 | 0 | 44 | 54 | 68 |
Paper and cardboard
| 26 | 31 | 43 | 33 | 27 |
| Energywaste | 128 | 140 | 138 | 98 | 110 |
| Biowaste | 43 | 53 | 35 | 37 | 36 |
Wood
| 168 | 214 | 188 | 183 | 205 |
| Metal | 43 | 275 | 138 | 58 | 328 |
Cable refuse
| 22 | 32 | 65 | 51 | 16 |
Crushed brick and concrete
| 436 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 506 |
| Screening | 0 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
Hazardous waste
| 112 | 221 | 114 | 146 | 109 |
1) Since 2017, mixed waste has been taken to
a waste-to-energy plant where it is used to produce district heating and
electricity.
