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90 areas in Germany named geologically suitable for nuclear waste deposits
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Gorleben is unlikely to become a repository
According to information from government circles, the salt dome at Gorleben in Lower Saxony cannot be considered a repository for nuclear waste. Due to the constant change in the salt dome, storage is probably not justifiable.
Around 1,900 containers with highly radioactive nuclear waste will be left behind when the last nuclear power plant in Germany is shut down in late 2022. Where to put it Geologically favorable locations have now been determined throughout Germany. Everyone can find their place on the page.
According to the findings of the Federal Association for Final Storage (BGE), 90 areas in Germany have favorable geological conditions for a nuclear waste disposal facility. The Gorleben Salt Dome in Lower Saxony is not included, as can be seen in the subareas of the interim report released Monday.
According to the report, 54 percent of the land area in Germany is designated as a sub-zone. The subareas are found in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony, but also in the eastern states of Germany.
Much of Germany is marked cheap on the map. Only the absolute northeast, western Pomerania and eastern Brandenburg are excluded, as are parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse. The Saar areas are not taken into account either. Furthermore, the northern Chiemsee region and most of southern Bavaria with the alpine foothills and the Alps are considered unsuitable.
Pre-determination of a location is far from related to this. “A subarea is far from being a location,” Steffen Kanitz, managing director of BGE, said at Monday’s press conference. Germany has been very well explored geologically, so reliable statements must be made. Germany is very suitable as a repository. “The north-south and east-west geology is so favorable that a location can be determined,” said Stefan Studt, managing director of BGE. “Spatial planning aspects, such as settlement density, still do not play a role,” Kanitz said.
Search: Is my hometown included?
Everyone can find their own location on the map. To do this, you need to click on the magnifying glass at the top right of the map and then enter your own zip code.
Under the new criteria, the Gorleben site does not have an overall favorable geological situation, the press conference said when asked. But at no point was there any political influence, neither from Gorleben nor from other regions. The BGE categorically rejected any criticism of Bavaria’s procedure. “We are not working politically, but purely scientifically,” Studt emphasized. Bavaria had previously stated that there were no suitable areas in the state.
In the months and years to come, potential locations will gradually shrink taking into account additional criteria, such as population density. In addition, the judgment of specialized conferences is taken into account.
In the second step, the proposals are examined more closely
This should prompt the debate on the disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste, especially in the areas that will now be examined more closely. Possible locations are proposed below to the legislature.
The so-called location regions are selected from the subareas, which are explored in more detail throughout the day. Some of them are also explored underground.
The deposit will be built underground in salt, clay or crystalline, that is, mostly granite. The location should be in 2031 and containers with radioactive waste should be stored underground from 2050.
First, the report lists all regions of Germany, “which are expected to have favorable geological conditions for the safe final storage of radioactive waste”, as required by the relevant law. That is why there are still quite a few and sometimes quite large areas. It will only get more specific in the next few years.
Repository search restarted
After a long period of trouble with the Gorleben Salt Dome, the search for a repository was completely restarted. Starting from a “white map”, in which each location is fundamentally possible, the possible locations are now gradually reduced according to scientific criteria. However, in the end, politicians should make the decision about the location, based on scientific findings. Citizens, communities, and organizations can get involved in the process through various formats.
Above all, there were problems with Gorleben, who had become a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement. Even before the report was released, some called for the salt dome to be excluded from the search for “politically burned”. But the Bavarian state government has also caused outrage by questioning the search process and insisting that hiding in Bavaria is not appropriate. They both question the “white map” principle, which is only being phased out on the basis of measurable criteria.
The Greens, among others, insist on this principle, whose roots also lie in the anti-nuclear movement. “Now is the first time that science is on the train and it must also leave it alone,” said the vice-president of the Bundestag parliamentary group, Oliver Krischer, of the dpa. In Gorleben’s case, there was primarily a political decision. In the 1970s it was decided to install a repository there. That is why “a region almost completely rebelled.”
