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Finland Might Have Solved Nuclear Power鈥檚 Biggest Problem - YouTube
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it's
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an immense project since 2005
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finland's been constructing the largest
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nuclear reactor in europe
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alongside a facility that could solve
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the problem of what to do with spent
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nuclear fuel
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when you think nuclear the nordic nation
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doesn't immediately jump to mind but if
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all of its planned projects come to
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fruition then by the end of the decade
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the country will be second only to
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france
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in terms of the percentage of energy
[29]
drawn from nuclear systems
[32]
after more than a decade of delays and
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cost overruns 2022 will see the world's
[37]
happiest country switch on one of the
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planet's most
[40]
advanced reactors potentially
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kickstarting
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a new age of nuclear power
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[Applause]
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finland actually has a long history with
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nuclear power
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its first reactor came online in 1977
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and by 1980
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three more were operational providing a
[64]
third of finland's total energy needs
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while these reactors are among the most
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efficient in the world
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running at a 95 capacity factor for the
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past decade and
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continually being uprated over their
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life cycle
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growing demand and the seasonal
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fluctuations of other renewable sources
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like
[81]
hydro and solar has left the country
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relying on imports from russia and
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sweden to make up the balance of its
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energy needs
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to lessen its reliance on foreign energy
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and help meet its goal of carbon
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neutrality by
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2035 the finnish government approved the
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construction of what was meant to be the
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world's first
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third generation pressurized water
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reactor or erp
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at its aukiloto nuclear plant known as
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ol3
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in 2005.
[110]
with an initial cost of 3.9 billion us
[113]
dollars ol3 was to nearly double the
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plant's existing output
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and provide 14 percent of finland's
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energy needs when it became operational
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by
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2010 but while ol3 was the first epr to
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begin construction ahead of
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other next generation reactors in france
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china
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and the uk complexities surrounding the
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design
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defects in safety systems and
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contractual disputes
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led to over a decade of delays and in
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2018
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china's taishan 1 became the first epr
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reactor in the world
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to start operating despite these delays
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and the cost
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swelling to over 10.2 billion us dollars
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ol3 was granted an operation licensed by
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finland's radiation and nuclear safety
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authority in 2019
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and in march 2021 116 tons of uranium
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began to be loaded into the reactor
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ahead of its final testing phase
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once it's connected to the grid and the
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reactor begins commercial production in
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early 2022
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the countdown will be on until ol3
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begins adding to finland's spent fuel
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stockpile
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nuclear power is an incredibly clean way
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to produce energy but it does create a
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byproduct
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and it's the one problem we've yet to
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truly solve
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after three to six years irradiated
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material is no longer able to sustain a
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reaction as a viable fuel source
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and new material must be brought in to
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maintain the reactor's efficiency
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but while it's unable to generate
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electricity spent fuel remains
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highly radioactive and needs to be
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isolated for hundreds of thousands of
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years
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to prevent it causing harm to people or
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the surrounding environment
[219]
although spent fuel can be re-enriched
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and re-enter the fuel cycle
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the main way we currently deal with
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radioactive waste is to simply store it
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in pools
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or sealed dry storage facilities while
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it slowly decays
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[Music]
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while these methods keep spent fuel
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contained it's not a viable long-term
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solution as the system is heavily
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reliant on mechanical
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and human intervention and even under
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the strictest conditions it can be
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vulnerable to attacks of terrorism
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or natural disasters the kind that led
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to the events of fukushima in 2011.
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with an estimated 250 000 tons of
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high-level waste already in storage
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around the world
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and with no long-term strategy of
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dealing with it many countries have
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chosen to completely rule out nuclear
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power when it comes to meeting their
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growing energy needs
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in an attempt to solve this since 2005
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plus a joint venture between finland's
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two nuclear power providers
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has been constructing the world's first
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deep geological repository for spent
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fuel
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in the billion year old bedrock not far
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from ol3
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[Music]
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funded by charges collected from
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consumers through electricity sales
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the 1 billion us dollar project that's
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due to complete in 2023
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will see a series of tunnels extend half
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a kilometer below ground
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creating a permanent disposal facility
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for spent fuel
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now while burying nuclear waste might
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sound alarming and may cause concern to
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environmental groups
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the process at on kelo is so much more
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than simply burying the problem
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based on a swedish disposal method known
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as kbs3
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irradiated material is placed into boron
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steel canisters
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and enclosed within corrosion resistant
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copper capsules before being
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buried in individual holes and
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backfilled with bentonite clay
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entombing it forever
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once buried no further mechanical or
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human intervention is required to
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contain the radioactive payload
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essentially eliminating one of the
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biggest barriers many countries have
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when it comes to adopting nuclear power
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with the capacity to accommodate the
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last 50 years worth of finland's
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accumulated spent fuel
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and the needs of its existing reactors
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until at least 2120
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at which time the facility will be
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permanently sealed
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unkailo appears to provide a viable
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long-term solution to dealing with
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nuclear waste
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described as a game changer for the
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industry by the director of the
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international atomic energy agency
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the lessons learned at once are being
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shared with other countries
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and regions with suitable geological
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characteristics are being considered for
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similar disposal sites
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having seemingly solved the biggest
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drawback of nuclear power
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and with the sixth reactor already
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planned to begin construction next year
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finland looks set to play a leading role
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in the widespread adoption of nuclear
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technology
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as the world continues to transition
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away from fossil fuels
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[Music]
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