Helping Sweden ensure the safety of an underground nuclear repository

Nuclear energy is a major source of energy in Sweden. However, it can be difficult to safely store radioactive waste generated during the production process. To address this challenge, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) decided to build a long-term nuclear repository in Forsmark, Sweden. SKB needed to complete a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to gain approval for the repository. We contributed to their EIA by modelling the possible pathways of radionuclides (radioactive contaminants) through the marine ecosystem, in the event of a future leak from the repository. This enabled SKB to evaluate bioconcentration factors (the extent to which pollutants concentrate in organisms) in the marine environment and calculate the potential risks to humans.