In our view, preventing waste has priority over recycling and disposing it. This applies to all types of solid waste.
We devote particular attention to carefully managing the radioactive waste from E.ON Energie and E.ON Nordic’s nuclear power stations. In 2007, we generated 3,632 tons of low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste and 281 tons of high-level radioactive waste. The main reason for this considerable increase in low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste in 2007 was the decommissioning of Central Europe’s Stade power plant. On top of that, low-level radioactive waste from E.ON Nordic was also disposed of after temporary storage.
The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (known by its Swedish abbreviation, SKB) is responsible for managing Sweden’s radioactive waste. SKB is a joint venture company owned by E.ON Nordic and other nuclear power station operators in Sweden. We work closely with SKB. A portion of E.ON Nordic’s low-level radioactive waste is recycled into non-radioactive material. Another portion is transported to the Simpevarp peninsula for disposal. Intermediate-level radioactive waste is encased in concrete and transported by ship under strict security and safety procedures to Forsmark where it is placed in SKB’s final storage facility. High-level radioactive waste (spent fuel rods, for example) is stored for 30 years in the CLAB intermediate storage facility in Oskarshamn. Plans call for this waste to be transferred to SKB’s final storage facility beginning in 2018. Currently, SKB is studying potential sites for the final storage facility. In 2009, SKB plans to apply for a permit to build the facility. Under SKB’s plan, high-level radioactive waste will be placed in copper canisters five meters in length. The canisters will be inserted into holes bored into granite about 500 meters below the earth’s surface. This method complies with Sweden’s strict regulations to prevent radioactive emissions. The transfer of radioactive waste from Sweden’s nuclear power stations must also meet strict security standards designed to prevent sabotage, terrorist attacks and the theft of nuclear waste. The SKB final storage facility, which is expected to cost about EUR one billion, will mark the final step of Sweden’s plan to manage its nuclear waste.
Regulatory standards differ from country to country. Consequently, the way they categorize solid waste varies widely. Despite this, in 2006 we succeeded in establishing uniform groupwide definitions of all types of solid waste. Our definitions of hazardous waste are based on European Union and U.S. government definitions. We classify all other types of waste as non-hazardous. Since 2006 we’ve been in a position to present meaningful, consolidated groupwide data on hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
Although the total amount of dangerous waste rose in 2007 to over 4,500 kilotons, 70 percent of this could be recycled. This represents a significantly higher recycling quota (over 20 percent higher) than in 2006. The large fluctuations in the amounts of dangerous waste recycled and disposed of are due to temporary storage periods. The disposal of dangerous waste is not always carried out in the same year but is instead dependent on recycling possibilities and the efficient use of logistics.
In the Central Europe, U.K. and U.S. Midwest market units we recycle a large portion of the byproducts of coal combustion and flue-gas scrubbing, particularly ash and gypsum which can be used by the building materials industry. This reduces our waste disposal costs and our impact on the environment. E.ON U.S. provides some of its coal ash to beneficial reuse projects. For example, 820,000 metric tons of environmentally safe coal ash was used as back-fill for a community green space in Kentucky.
The recycling quota for ash and slag was increased from 60 to 80 percent in 2007 compared to the previous year, while gypsum recycling remained at over 95 percent.
