In Finland, radioactive spent nuclear fuel soon to be buried underground

'We hope we can start the operation either at the end of this year or most probably at the beginning of next year,' said Philippe Bordarier

EURAJOKI (FINLAND) - The elevator display reads "433", the number of metres below ground. The doors slide open, revealing the entrance to what is expected to be the world's first permanent repository for radioactive spent nuclear fuel.

Blasted into 1.9 billion-year-old stable bedrock in Eurajoki, southwest Finland, the geological repository for spent nuclear waste -- dubbed Onkalo which means "cave" in Finnish -- is nearly ready to start operations.