Nuclear Controversy in Finland

Shortcut to this page: http://fin.nuclear-heritage.net
 * TALVIVAARA nickel and uranium mine spill: highly toxic waste waters pollute rivers and lakes
 * Atomic sites in Finland as of 2012/02

Facts about Finland
provided by an exhibition presented at the international anti-nuclear conference in Vienna on May 31, 2013

Independent Republic since 1917 Member State of the European Union since 1995


 * Capital: Helsinki
 * Neighbouring countries: Estonia, Norway, Russia and Sweden
 * Area: 338 000 km²
 * Population: 5.28 million
 * Population density: 15.5 persons per km²
 * GDP per capita at market prices (2006): EUR 31 886
 * Monetary unit: euro (EUR)
 * Total primary energy consumption (2006): 32.6 Mtoe
 * Total electricity consumption (2006): 90.0 TWh
 * Electricity consumption per capita: 17 054 kWh
 * Share of nuclear energy in Finland (2006):
 * 24.4 % of total electricity consumption
 * 28.0 % of domestic electricity production

Source of next section: lecture of Tapio Litmanen, University of Jyväskylä 

2008 energy production in Finland:
 * Oil (25 %)
 * Wood fuels (21 %)
 * Nuclear energy (17 %)
 * Natural gas (11 %)
 * Coal (10 %)
 * Peat (6 %)
 * Hydro power (4 %)
 * Net imports of electricity (3 %)
 * Other (3 %)

''Source: Yearbook of Energy Statistics 2009. Statistics Finland''

2012/2011 energy production in Finland:
 * Oil (24 %/24 %)
 * Wood fuels (23 %/23 %)
 * Nuclear energy (18 %/9 %)
 * Natural gas (8 %/9 %)
 * Coal (10 %/11 %)
 * Peat (5 %/6 %)
 * Hydro power (4 %/3 %)
 * Other (3 %/3 %)

Source: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Energy supply and consumption

2000-2011 electricity production in Finland:
 * Nuclear power (32 %)
 * Hydro power (17 %)
 * Wind power (1 %)
 * Black liquor (7 %)
 * Other wood fuels (7 %)
 * Other renewables (1 %)
 * Peat (7 %)
 * Oil (1 %)
 * Natural gas (13 %)
 * Other fossil fuels (1) %
 * Hard coal (13 %)
 * Other energy sources (1 %)

Electricity production 70.4 Twh

Source: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Production of electricity and heat

2012 Electricity consumption in Finland:
 * Households and agriculture (28 %)
 * Services and public consumption (22 %)
 * Industry and construction: 47 %
 * Forest industries (24 %)
 * Metal industry (10 %)
 * Chemical industry (8)
 * Other industries (5 %)
 * Losses (3 %)

Source: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Energy supply and consumption

Atomic Policy in Finland
-> learn more

Climate Policy
Source of next section: lecture of Tapio Litmanen, University of Jyväskylä 


 * One of the world leaders in utilising bioenergy
 * RES TARGETS
 * Mandatory targets set by EU's Directive on the Promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
 * 38% share of RES on the final consumption of energy in 2020
 * At least 10% share of renewable energy in final consumption of energy in transport by 2020

Poor performance in reducing CO2 emissions: (N. Valkila, A. Saari / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 17 (2013) 283–290)
 * Finland's per capita emissions of carbon dioxide are fairly high
 * In 2003–2005 the average annual emissions were 12.7 t of CO² per capita
 * as against the 9.0 t of CO² per capita for all the EU-25 countries
 * Poor performance is explained by
 * Geography: a northern European climate
 * Population density: sparsely populated (17 inhabitants per sq. km)
 * Structure of industry: energy intensive

Time line
provided by an exhibition presented at the international anti-nuclear conference in Vienna on May 31, 2013
 * 1970 - preliminary preparations fpr nuclear waste management during the construction of the Finnish NPPs
 * 1977-1978 - operation of first reactors started in Loviisa and Olkiluoto
 * 1978 - interim storage of spent nuclear fuel started in Loviisa
 * 1983 - the Finnish Government set the overall schedule on the Finnish nuclear waste management programme
 * 1983 - screening of potential sites for final disposal of spent fuel started
 * 1987 - field research started in five municipalities for selection of the final disposal site
 * 1987 - interim storage of spent nuclear fuel started in Olkiluoto
 * 1988 - construction of low and intermediate level waste repository started in Olkiluoto
 * 1992 - final disposal of low and intermediate level waste started in Olkiluoto
 * 1992 - detailed site characterisation for final disposal of spent fuel started in the municipalities of Eurajoki, Kuhmo and Äänekoski
 * 1993 - construction of low level and intermediate level waste repository started in Loviisa
 * 1994 - the Finnish Parliament banned the import and export of nuclear waste
 * 1995 - Posiva Oy was established to manage the final disposal of spent fuel
 * 1997 - Loviisa was selected as the fourth potential site for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel
 * 1998 - final disposal of low and intermediate level waste started in Loviisa
 * 2000 - Olkiluoto was selected as the site for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel
 * 2003 - the municipality of Eurajoki issued a building permit for the underground characterisation facility Onkalo
 * 2004-2009 - ground-level service and monitoring buildings for Onkalo under construction; excavation of the access tunnel to reach a depth of 420 meters

Future nuclear activity in Finland

 * Map of nuclear companies in Finland
 * Nuclear Industry: FinNuclear Industrial Support Unit

Reactors
 * Olkiluoto 3 building going on at the moment, 4th reactor proposed - see also: Olkiluoto NPP
 * operational reactors: Olkiluoto I + II
 * operator: TVO
 * Loviisa 3rd reactor proposed
 * operational reactors: Loviisa I + II
 * operator: Fortum
 * Fennovoima project - Possible locations: Ruotsinpyhtää, Simo, Pyhäjoki. Application in process.

Final disposal sites
 * ONKALO in Olkiluoto - construction started in 2004
 * operator: Posiva

Uranium mining projects
 * Enontekiö
 * Joensuu - Kontiolahti
 * Kärsämäki
 * Kittilä
 * Kuhmo
 * Kuusamo
 * Paltamo
 * Ranua
 * Rovaniemi
 * Tervola
 * Ylitornio

Uranium production
 * Kittilä
 * Sokli mine: Savukoski
 * Kuusamo
 * Sotkamo

Uranium prospecting sites (another list):
 * Rovaniemi - Ylitornio
 * Tervola
 * Ranua
 * Sokli mine: Salla / Uranium Mining in Savukoski
 * Paltamo
 * Kärsämäki
 * Sotkamo
 * Kuhmo
 * Nilsiä
 * Eno - Kontiolahti

and:
 * Talvivaara mining site



Government working group: Nuclear waste final repository maybe not big enough
''What does this piece of news mean? - It means that someone has bothered to make a press release about the unfinished estimations and investigations of a government committee. It means someone has deliberately chosen the headline with the purpose of saying,''
 * 1) "we'll have to discuss creating more final repositories"
 * 2) "we'll continue to create more nuclear waste that has to be stored somewhere"

''What we also learn is that the plan with Onkalo was never to store all the waste of Olkiluoto, or any other NPP - because, only when they get around to making the tunnels will they know how much space there will be. In other words, Onkalo is just the beginning.''

What's also interesting is that the actual purpose of the committee in question is to investigate whether Fennovoima's waste could also fit into Onkalo, not whether the waste of the owners of Onkalo/Posiva could fit.

''Thus, alternatively, what this piece of news means is that: because of market competition, any nuclear power company in the same position (commissioning the building of a final repository) would have to do the same thing, i.e.: make public statement / "report" (or say to government committee if/when they make report) saying that "no-one else's waste will fit in, because maybe there won't be space enough for all of our own waste!" If they don't, they are limiting their future perspectives of growth, and "giving in" to their competitors.''

Of course, what this piece of news also means is that: At the moment, the climate in the (finnish) public debate is such, that someone can freely do this kind of public media lobbying ("meta-politics"/"meta-market-competition") without anyone caring, commenting, or protesting.

Työryhmä: Ydinjätteen loppusijoitustila ei ehkä riitä Ydinjätteiden loppusijoitustila ei välttämättä riitä Fortumin ja Teollisuuden Voiman jätteille, arvioi työ- ja elinkeinoministeriön työryhmä. Vasta tunnelien louhintavaiheessa selviää, kuinka paljon kalliolohkoon mahtuu käytettyä ydinpolttoainetta.

Työryhmä selvittää mahdollisuuksia sijoittaa Olkiluotoon myös Fennovoiman ydinjäte. Onkalon omistaa Posiva, jonka takana ovat Fortum ja Teollisuuden Voima. STT

source: http://www.kaleva.fi/uutiset/talous/tyoryhma-ydinjatteen-loppusijoitustila-ei-ehka-riita/597810/

Other Materials

 * Objection To The Final Disposal Site in Finland
 * Flyer against uranium mining in Finland
 * Uranium mining attempts in Kuusamo English/Finnish
 * press release: People in Pyhäjoki have been disregarded because of the Fennovoima nuclear plans as of March 26, 2015

Anti-nuclear groups and organizations in Finland

 * 1) Anti-nuclear action Blog Toimintaryhmä
 * 2) pro Hanhiviki (against proposed Pyhäjoki NPP)
 * 3) Lappi movement against uranium power
 * 4) Movement against uranium mining in Northern Carelia
 * 5) Northern Finland Network against nuclear power and uranium mining and for renewable energy
 * 6) Stop Fennovoima
 * 7) TURVA - Action network against uranium industry
 * 8) * [mailto:turvaATriseup.net turva AT riseup.net]

Other groups connected to anti-nuclear issues

 * 1) Hyökyaalto network (Rising Tide Finland) 
 * 2) Luonto-Liitto ry
 * 3) * Annankatu 26 A, 5. kerros, FIN-00100 Helsinki
 * 4) SLL - Finnish Association for Nature Conservation
 * 5) Takku - anarchist news site

Anti-nuclear website projects

 * Ydinvoima.fi Finnish

Additional resources

 * Finland on no nukes inforesource