The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) reported that its members visited Sweden’s Forsmark and Clab radioactive waste facilities in September, in a news story published on 5 October 2026. CoRWM said the trip aimed to understand how Sweden had advanced geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel and low and intermediate level operational wastes, especially lessons on siting and public engagement.

At Forsmark, in Östhammar municipality, the SFR repository for short-lived wastes has operated since 1988, and the site was selected in 2009 for a deep geological spent fuel repository, with construction underway since 2025. CoRWM’s hosts from SKB described a siting process that went beyond financial compensation, including socio-economic surveys and local site offices. Members also visited Clab near Oskarshamn, where spent fuel is held in water-filled pools; CoRWM was told radioactivity and heat would drop by 99% over the next 30 to 40 years.

CoRWM said it did not speak with local communities or project critics, and noted Sweden’s geology, waste inventory and political structures differ markedly from the UK’s.