Decades-Long Dismantling of East Germany‘s First Nuclear Plant nears Halfway Point
As of November 27, 2025, the complex and costly process of decommissioning the Rheinsberg nuclear power plant continues, with an estimated completion date in the mid-2040s.
For 30 years, a dedicated workforce in Rheinsberg, Brandenburg, has been meticulously dismantling the German Democratic Republic’s (GDR) pioneering nuclear power plant. The undertaking has already consumed decades and notable resources,serving as a poignant reminder of the GDR’s ambitious atomic aspirations,a legacy that continues to shape the present. Employees of a federally owned company are engaged in the painstaking task of extracting the radioactive remnants of a bygone era from the surrounding forest near the Mecklenburg Lake District.
The dismantling signifies the end of an era for the first nuclear power plant built in the former East Germany, a symbol of national pride immortalized on the ten-mark banknote of the time.Construction began nine years before the plant officially commenced operations on May 9, 1966, with considerable support from the Soviet Union.
“Back in the 1960s, people weren’t yet at the stage where they thoght from the back of their minds about how they could dismantle the plant later,” explains Markus Lindner, the commercial managing director of the nuclear waste disposal plant (EWN), the entity responsible for the decommissioning. “It’s a very complex, time-consuming process.” Lindner details the immense scale of the challenge, noting that employees have had to examine 70,000 tons of concrete for radioactivity, under the constant scrutiny of nuclear regulators and radiation protection officers. Some of the plant’s structures extended as deep as nine meters below ground level.
The inherent risks associated with the reactor’s demolition prompted the SPD-led Brandenburg Surroundings Ministry to temporarily halt sampling of radioactive sludge in December of last year, demanding proof of adequate occupational safety measures. However, the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher administrative Court overturned this order in mid-October, citing procedural errors in the authority’s decision. The Ministry of the Environment is currently evaluating whether to appeal to the Federal Administrative Court.
The fate of the nuclear waste generated during the dismantling process has been a central concern. Currently, all highly radioactive waste from Brandenburg is stored at an interim storage facility in Lubmin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, according to EWN spokesman Kurt Radloff. “All other radioactive waste that arises during dismantling is low or medium radioactive.”
Federal officials emphasize that the danger posed by the site is diminishing as decommissioning progresses. “The danger potential of a nuclear power plant for the population gradually decreases, particularly due to the removal of the fuel elements from the fuel element storage pool and the particularly heavily contaminated or activated components during decommissioning,” a spokesman for the Federal Environment Ministry stated. The last fuel elements were transported to the Lubmin facility in 2001, and the reactor pressure vessel – weighing over 100 tons and standing more than eleven meters tall – followed in 2007.
Security measures are also in place to protect the stored waste. Workers in Rheinsberg store radioactive substances in yellow barrels before transporting them to Lubmin, and authorities regularly inspect the site to guard against potential threats, including terrorism and sabotage, even from drones. “the ‘nuclear waste’ you mentioned is currently adequately protected from drones,” the Federal Environment Ministry spokesman assured. Nuclear fuel is currently approved for storage in castor containers for a maximum of forty years, but researchers have confirmed that the material can be safely stored for considerably longer.
despite the progress, challenges remain. EWN estimates that complete disposal of the Rheinsberg plant will not be achieved until the mid-2040s. The workforce has dwindled from a peak of 650 to the current 130, and budgetary constraints, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, have forced temporary layoffs. “We had to send 20 temporary workers home,” Lindner revealed, adding that recruiting younger personnel is proving challenging. He also cautioned that unforeseen technical hurdles could arise during the dismantling process. “We don’t know what to expect during dismantling,” he said, explaining that employees must continually adjust plans based on new radioactivity measurements. the story of the Rheinsberg nuclear power plant,it seems,is far from over.
