Extremely low emissions

The harmful environmental impact of nuclear power is minimal. A nuclear power plant generates only a negligible amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and no acidifying emissions.

The single greatest environmental impact of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant is caused by the heat conveyed into the sea with the cooling water. Studies on how to use this heat have been conducted at Olkiluoto for a long time. TVO is investigating the potential for using the warm water to aid in wine cultivation and in growing signal crayfish and Siberian sturgeon.

Emissions into air

The authorities set maximum permissible limits for radioactive emissions from nuclear power plants. Olkiluoto power plant emissions into the air constitute only some thousandths of the limit values. Radiation levels around the power plant are measured continuously. The maximum permissible limits are defined so that a person living in the vicinity of the power plant can receive no more than 0.1 millisieverts per year. By comparison, exposure to natural background radiation in Finland results in an average radiation dose of 3.7 millisieverts per year.

Discharges into water

The levels of fission and activation products discharged into the sea from the power plant are fractions of one per cent of the maximum permissible limits set by the authorities, and tritium discharges are about 10% of those limits. The water in the power plant processes is cleaned continuously to remove fission and activation products. The ion exchange resins used in this cleaning are mixed with bitumen and packed tightly into drums for storage in the low-level and intermediate-level waste repository at Olkiluoto (the VLJ Repository). Sanitation water is treated at the Olkiluoto wastewater treatment plant, and the clean water is piped into the sea.

No greenhouse gases

One of the great challenges in international environmental protection is reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in accordance with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Deciding to build a new nuclear power plant unit in Finland was a major step in the right direction. This new unit will produce about 13 TWh of electricity per year. If this amount were to be produced by a coal-fired power plant, it would generate about 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

Environmental Balance Sheet 2009