Nuclear regulatory authority
The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) is the regulatory authority for nuclear safety, radiation protection, nuclear security and nuclear non-proliferation. SSM works proactively and preventively to maintain a high level of nuclear safety and radiation protection in Sweden and internationally. The Authority has just over 300 employees with expertise in fields such as engineering, natural and behavioural sciences, law, economics and communications. Its budget is approximately 570 million Swedish kronor per year (about EUR 57m). SSM’s work is financed through fees and tax funds.
SSM issues legally binding regulations under the Act on Nuclear Activities (1984:3) and the Radiation Protection Act (2018:396). SSM is involved in licensing of nuclear activities and carries out inspections and enforcement. In an accident situation involving radioactive material or radiation, SSM arranges for expert assistance to the entities in charge. This is done by means of the emergency response centre located on SSM’s premises. SSM also has the mandate to coordinate the national organisation for measurement and analysis.
The mission and tasks of SSM are defined in Ordinance 2008:452, which contains instructions for the Authority, and in annual appropriation directions from the Swedish Government.
Nuclear activities
There are three nuclear power plants in the country, with a total of six reactors in operation. These NPPs are the Forsmark, Oskarshamn and Ringhals plants. The Forsmark NPP has three reactors in operation. The Oskarshamn NPP shut down two of its three reactors in 2015 and 2017. The Ringhals NPP shut down two of its four reactors in 2019 and 2020.
The six operating reactors came into operation between 1980 and 1985, and comprise of four BWRs of ASEA-Atom design and two PWRs of Westinghouse design. In an average year, nuclear power provides around 40 per cent of the electricity produced in Sweden.
As a result of new regulations, all Swedish reactors have undergone extensive modernization and safety upgrades over the past two decades. In recent years, substantial and additional safety upgrades have resulted from the National Action Plan (NAcP) decided after the post-Fukushima stress tests. As a final step of the NAcP, robust and independent core cooling systems are required to be implemented in all reactors operating.
Other nuclear facilities in Sweden include e.g. a nuclear fuel fabrication plant, an interim spent fuel storage facility, and a disposal facility for short-lived low and intermediate level radioactive waste.
Radioactive waste and spent fuel management
SKB (Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company) was jointly established in the 1970s by the Swedish nuclear reactor operators. SKB is the licensee of a disposal facility for short-lived low and intermediate level operational waste, SFR, located at Forsmark. The SFR facility is situated in crystalline bedrock on the coast of the Baltic Sea at a depth of 60 metres below the seabed and approximately 3-4 metres seawater. Construction of SFR began in 1983 and the facility was commissioned in 1988. SFR is currently licensed for disposal of 63,000 m3 of operational waste. In 2014, SKB submitted a licence application for permission to increase SFR’s disposal capacity to 180,000 m3 in order to also accommodate decommissioning waste. The Swedish Government approved the licence application in December 2021 and SKB is now seeking staged consent from SSM for construction, test operation and routine operation of the enlarged facility.
SKB is also the licensee of the interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, Clab, located at Oskarshamn. In 2021 SKB received Government approval to enlarge the licensed storage capacity at Clab from 8,000 to 11,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel. SSM needs to approve the safety reports relating to modifications at the facility before SKB is able take advantage of the increase in licensed capacity.
The process of selecting a concept and site for a spent nuclear fuel repository was launched more than four decades ago. In 2009, SKB opted to locate the geological repository at Forsmark, in the municipality of Östhammar. In 2022, following review by SSM of SKB’s licence application according to the Act on Nuclear Activities, SKB received a licence from the Government enabling the implementation of an encapsulation plant in conjunction with the Clab interim storage facility at Oskarshamn and a geological repository for spent fuel at Forsmark. SSM needs to approve the safety reports as part of a staged process of regulatory consent before SKB can commence construction, test operation and operation of the facilities.
Main legal instruments
Five enactments constitute fundamental nuclear safety and radiation protection legislation:
- Act on Nuclear Activities (1984:3)
- Radiation Protection Act (2018:396)
- Environmental Code (1998:808)
- Act on Financing of Management of Residual Products from Nuclear Activities (2006:647)
- Nuclear Liability Act (1968:45)
Last updated in April 2023
