SKB Turns in Application for Permit to Build a Final Repository in Forsmark

STOCKHOLM, March 17, 2011 - Yesterday, March 16th, Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company,
SKB, applied for a permit to build a final repository for spent nuclear fuel
and a facility where the fuel will be encapsulated before being transported
to the final repository. SKB's application will now be reviewed by the
Swedish Radiation Safety Authority and the Environmental Court. The
application will subsequently be presented for political decision in the
relevant municipalities and by the government.

For further information, please visit
www.skb.se/Templates/Standard____30991.aspx

In the submitted application documentation, SKB is applying for
permission to build an encapsulation facility in Oskarshamn Municipality and
a final repository for spent nuclear fuel at Forsmark in Östhammar
Municipality.

"The solution we are presenting for review satisfies the societal
requirement stipulating that human beings and the environment must be
protected from spent nuclear fuel, both now and in the future. Over three
decades of research have resulted in a safe method that is ready to be
implemented. We also have a carefully selected location that provides the
requisite safety requirements for a final repository," says Claes
Thegerström, President of SKB.

The encapsulation facility will be built next to the Clab interim storage
facility, and the final repository will be built at a depth of almost 500
metres in the bedrock at Forsmark. With these facilities in place, the system
for managing spent nuclear fuel from Swedish nuclear power plants will be
complete.

"We discern clear support for our standpoint that the final repository
should be built now rather than being postponed to the future. There is also
strong scientific support that building the repository in bedrock is the
appropriate strategy. Bedrock offers much better long-term protection than
would fuel storage close to the surface for an indefinite period of time,"
says Claes Thegerström.

SKB's research and technology development will continue in parallel with
the permit process that has now been initiated. Doing so ensures that nuclear
waste management will continue to be accomplished with the best available
know-how and technology.

From a global perspective, Sweden is one of the countries that has
progressed the furthest in terms of geological final repository of nuclear
fuel. The Parliament of Finland has resolved in principle to build a final
repository using the same technical solution as the Swedish one.

"Sweden is at the forefront thanks to a clear division of roles among
responsible industries, reviewing authorities and policymakers. This division
has laid the foundation for long-term development work supported by a
democratic decision-making process. We are now looking forward to our
application being reviewed, and we will do everything in our power to
facilitate the reviewers' important task," concludes Claes Thegerström.

Contact information: Carl Sommerholt, Communications Director, +46-8-459-84-38, carl.sommerholt at skb.se