2024-08-13 03:02:47
Almost 2,000 containers of highly radioactive nuclear waste are to be safely stored for a million years. But where? The search for a location will take time, but probably not that long.
The Federal Environment Ministry assumes that a final storage facility for highly radioactive waste will be found in Germany by 2050, which is about 20 years later than originally planned. The ministry announced this in Berlin. It referred to the plans of the Federal Agency for Final Storage (BGE) and added that not all “possible acceleration potentials have been taken into account”. So it could go even faster.
On Wednesday, a report by the Freiburg-based Öko-Institut caused a stir, according to which the search for a location for the planned underground nuclear waste storage facility could take until at least 2074, more than 40 years longer than the originally stated target year of 2031.
The ministry states: “In 2017, the legislature did not specify the target year of 2031 – which is to be aimed for but not necessarily adhered to – based on a time estimate, but rather in order to get the process underway quickly with an ambitious target year.” The statement points out that it has been known for almost two years that 2031 will not be met. In 2022, the BGE had named a time corridor for the site selection from 2046 to 2068.
The search for a final storage facility involves finding a place deep underground for the permanent storage of 27,000 cubic meters of highly radioactive waste (1,750 so-called Castor containers) from more than 60 years of nuclear power in Germany. According to the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), this is five percent of the radioactive waste in Germany, but it contains around 99 percent of the total radioactivity of all waste. The aim is to find a place that will be safe for a million years, as the waste will be radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years. It is currently stored in 16 above-ground interim storage facilities in various federal states.
Replacing the containers is not necessary, according to the Ministry of the Environment. The containers used for dry interim storage are also suitable for safely enclosing and shielding the radioactive material for more than forty years. “Based on current knowledge, it can be assumed that safe interim storage can be guaranteed for significantly longer than the previously approved storage period of 40 years.”
The search for a repository is carried out in accordance with a site selection law in a multi-stage, long-term search process with public participation. According to the “white map” principle, no federal state was excluded from the outset. The map is no longer white. Around 90 areas – more than half of the country’s area – have been defined as geologically suitable for a nuclear repository. In addition to the rock layers, the search also takes into account the risk of earthquakes and population density. The site selection law stipulates that a decision is to be made in 2031. The repository should be operational from 2050.