Press release

Fortum to supply more ion exchange materials for purification of radioactive liquids in Fukushima, Japan

22 September 2015, 10:00 EEST

FORTUM CORPORATION PRESS RELEASE 22 September 2015 at 10.00 EET

FORTUM CORPORATION PRESS RELEASE 22 September  2015 at 10.00 EET

Fortum has received a significant additional order from the American EnergySolutions for ion exchange materials for purification of radioactive waters at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Fortum’s ion exchange materials have been used in the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) in the power plant area to purify radioactive waters for the past three years. EnergySolutions’s most recent order is one of Fortum’s largest deliveries of Nures® ion exchange materials to date.

“Fortum’s ion exchange materials effectively remove e.g. caesium and strontium from radioactive water. In addition to purification effectiveness, another advantage of the Fortum products is their cost efficiency: the amount of the product needed is very small compared to the volume of liquids to be purified,” says Fortum’s Heikki Andersson, Vice President, Power Solutions.

Fortum’s method significantly reduces the need for intermediate and final disposal repository space for radioactive liquids. Fortum has sold ion exchange materials for some 60 different applications around the world. Fortum has supplied ion exchange materials to Fukushima since spring 2012.

Fortum Corporation
Corporate Communications

Further information:
Heikki Andersson, Vice President, Power Solutions, Fortum, tel. +358 50 453 4092

Nures® product and ion exchange materials
Fortum has over 20 years of experience in treating waste containing radioactive impurities with Nures® products. Fortum initially developed the product for use at its own Loviisa nuclear power plant. The Fortum-developed products are designed to e.g. remove caesium, strontium and cobalt especially from large volumes of liquids that are particularly difficult to treat and which typically are very difficult and expensive to purify. Nures® contains extremely selective ion exchange materials CsTreat®, SrTreat® and CoTreat® to absorb radioactivity. A very small amount of these materials are needed compared to the volume of the liquid to be purified. The purified water doesn’t contain any harmful substances and thus it can be released into a water system. Esko Tusa, who has developed and sold products at Fortum for decades, received the 2015 Finnish Engineering Award for his accomplishments. The award is granted by Tekniikan akateemiset TEK and Tekniska Föreningen i Finland TFiF.

Fortum
Fortum’s purpose is to create energy that improves life for present and future generations. Fortum’s expertise is in CO2-free and efficient electricity and heat production. The company also offers energy-related products and expert services to private and industrial customers and energy producers. Fortum’s main areas of operation are the Nordic and the Baltic countries, Russia and Poland. In 2014, the annual sales (excluding the divested electricity distribution business) totalled EUR 4.1 billion, and comparable operating profit was EUR 1.1 billion. The company employs approximately 8,000 people. Fortum’s share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. www.fortum.com