Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (''Äspölaboratoriet'') is a

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

site located outside

Oskarshamn Oskarshamn is a coastal city and the seat of Oskarshamn Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 17,258 inhabitants in 2010. History Etymology Döderhultsvik was the original name before a town charter was granted in 1856. The name was then chan ...

Kalmar County Kalmar County () is a Counties of Sweden, county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Kronoberg County, Kronoberg, Jönköping County, Jönköping, Blekinge County, Blekinge and Östergötland County, Östergötland. To the ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The laboratory is located in the Misterhult archipelago, near the

Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant The Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant is one of three active nuclear power stations in Sweden. The plant is about north of Oskarshamn, directly at the Kalmarsund at the Baltic Sea coast and with one active reactor, producing about 10% of the elec ...

(''Oskarshamns Kärnkraftverk'').

General information

The Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory is a research facility for future

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The plant is owned and operated by Svensk Nuclear Fuel Management AB (''Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB''). It was built to test different methods and possibilities for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. At the laboratory a series of experiments are performed at depths of into the

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

. The laboratory is used by both Swedish and international experts. Much of the research is done for the construction of the future Spent Fuel Repository. There is no spent nuclear fuel on the site which makes it possible to keep the Äspö laboratory open to the public. There is an exhibition at the site with information and also guided tours via a tunnel down through the bedrock which takes the visitors as far as below ground.

References

External links

Information at the Svensk Kärnbränslehantering webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspo Hard Rock Laboratory Oskarshamn Nuclear power in Sweden Radioactive waste repositories Tourist attractions in Kalmar County