Vocabulary

 

 
 
 
 
 

Video

 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

 

News Anchor: Welcome back! Let’s take you to Finland, where after two decades of construction, work will soon be completed on the world’s first geological tomb for spent nuclear fuel.

Finland opened Europe’s most powerful nuclear reactor last April. It’s betting on nuclear to boost energy security and help it reach its climate goals. Adrien Murray has more.

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It’s a brief elevator ride almost half a kilometer underground, into the depths of Onkalo, where for the first time anywhere in the world, highly radioactive nuclear waste will be permanently stored.

These tunnels span more than 50 km.

“Our depth at the moment is about 430 meters.”

Eventually, they’ll hold 62,000 tons of spent uranium — all the waste Finland’s five reactors will ever produce.

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It takes hundreds of thousands of years for radioactive waste to safely decay, and this underground tomb is the final resting place for Finland’s spent nuclear fuel.

The bedrock here is almost 2 billion years old, and geologists think it’s ideal for a nuclear graveyard.

Tuomas Pere, Geoscientist and Monitoring Manager: “Olkiluoto and the whole of Western Finland is located in a really stable geologically stable area. We have hardly any earthquakes, and the groundwater conditions are good for our concept.”

Remote-controlled machines will do the work, slotting 5-meter copper canisters into holes in the rock — before it’s sealed off with clay and a thick concrete plug.

Most radioactive waste is temporarily stored in pools above ground — and worldwide around 260,000 tons are piling up.

But Finland believes a geological tomb like this offers a safer solution.

“You need to cool down the spent fuel for 40 years. The world is full of those temporary storages, and almost all of this waste is ready to be put in its final place.”

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You might imagine that few would welcome such a facility in their backyard, but two-thirds of Finns support nuclear energy. In the neighboring town of Eurajoki, locals have been won over by jobs and huge tax revenues.

Eurajoki Resident, One: “When they built it, there were a lot of employees, workers, and it brought money.”

Eurajoki Resident, Two: “If we look around, everything here is big because of that. It has given us everything; it’s just a fact.”

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The nearby power plant Olkiluoto is now home to three reactors after Europe’s newest and most powerful were switched on last year.

Amid heightened tensions with Russia, it’s been fortunate timing, and has helped spare Finland from the worst of Europe’s energy crisis.

Juha Poikola, Spokesperson, TVO: “We have a history of being the most dependent on imports in electricity, and finally, now we are not dependent on imports anymore.”

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Nuclear power doesn’t produce any direct carbon emissions, and here it’s seen as climate-friendly. Even Finland’s Green Party have backed it more than 90%.

But some environmentalists still worry about the risks.

Juha Aromass, Greenpeace Nordic: “You have waste that you should take care of for an enormous amount of generations, so it would be hard to say that it would be sustainable.”

While some countries, like Germany, have said no to nuclear, others, including the UK, are building new reactors — and are watching Finland very closely.

Adrien Murray, BBC News, Eurajoki.

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Questions

 

Energy, Power. This report was mainly about Finland’s newest nuclear power plants. True or false?

Muscle. The tunnels were made in the sides a mountain. Is this right or wrong?

Donkey, Horse, Mule. Does nuclear was biodegrade and decompose in a few months?

Oxen, Water Buffalo. What are the geological features of western Finland?

Llama, Camel. Will workers manually dump nuclear waste into the underground tunnels?

Firewood. Local residents in the town above the underground nuclear waste storage site are vehemently opposed to the scheme and have been protesting. Is this correct or incorrect?

Coal. Do the residents say they fear nuclear radiation contamination?

Oil, Petroleum, Fuel. Everyone in Finland is 100% confidence in the underground burial chamber. Do you agree?
 
 
 
Steam Engine, Turbine. What do you think about Finland’s underground nuclear waste storage? Do you agree with it? Are you confident in their underground nuclear storage facility?

Coal, Oil Burning Plant. What are the main sources of energy or electric power in your town, region, and country?

Nuclear Reactor. Have there been changes over the decades?

Solar Energy, Solar Panel. Are there debates, arguments, controversies and protests over energy supplies?

Wind Turbine. What might happen in the future?

Nuclear Fusion. What are some solutions to energy, the climate and environment?