Built to last – for 100 000 years
2009-03-15
Swedish researchers investigated long-term underground storage solutions for nuclear waste. Contractor Bergteamet chose the Atlas Copco Boomer E2 C to perform the drilling.
Atlas Copco’s Boomer E2 C drill rig drilling blast holes for the Swedish nuclear research facility, 450 m below sea level.
In its search for the safest way to store nuclear waste, Sweden’s SKB, the company responsible for handling the country’s nuclear waste, is drilling at a test site to assess the effectiveness of different methods of rock excavation. On Sweden’s south east coast on the island of Äspö, a complex of tunnels has been constructed using drill and blast.
The goal is to find a repeatable method for excavating and sealing rock so that spent fuel rods and other radioactive material can be safely stored for up to 100 000 years. An Atlas Copco Boomer E2 C was selected for the drilling while an Atlas Copco Unigrout grouting plant was used for the grouting.
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