In Finland, a cave in ancient rock just won permission to keep nuclear waste safe for 100,000 years

Forty years of careful work came to a point this week in Eurajoki, southwestern Finland. The government granted an operating licence to Onkalo — a repository tunnelled more than 400 metres into bedrock 1.9 billion years old — making Finland the first country in the world with a permanent home for spent nuclear fuel. The fuel, up to 6,500 tonnes from Finland's five reactors, will be sealed in copper canisters, wrapped in clay and lowered into the rock. 'This is a great and historic day for both Posiva and Finland,' said the company's chief executive, Ilkka Poikolainen.

SDG 12 · Responsible consumption and production — Mechanism: infrastructure build