Search for a nuclear waste repository: where it could arise, why it will be necessary

Radiant nuclear waste in the neighborhood - that is a horror idea for many.

Now it became known where a repository for large amounts of nuclear waste could be located in Germany.

All information and a data analysis.

• A map with possible

  repositories will

  determine the discussion on Monday (September 28th).

• Different

  opinions

  are represented - we will keep you up to date (see updates).

• Data, graphics and further information on the

  search for a repository for nuclear waste

  can be found further down in the text (see initial report).

Peine / Munich - 90 sub-areas are on the shortlist for a German nuclear waste repository, the further intensive and certainly emotional discussions will determine the months and years to come.

We document all information and the current status here - and provide

below in section +++

, why this repository has to exist at all.

And that, for example, the amount of radiant rubbish would be enough to cover the entire city of Munich and two meters high.

Nuclear waste repository: After the preliminary decision, months and years of discussion follow

Update from September 28, 12:56 p.m.:

Prime Minister

has dismissed the allegations that Bavaria would not take any responsibility for the

of nuclear waste.

With the active interim storage facilities in the Free State, Bavaria already bears an “absolute main load” (see map in the initial report).

At the political level, the debate is not being conducted quite fairly, as many sides are calling for a repository to be built in Bavaria.

The designation of many areas that could be used as

created "enormous uncertainty" in the country.

Almost two thirds of the area of ​​Bavaria, eight million people lived in an affected region (see map).

It is questionable why

excluded even though the assessment is very broad, according to the CSU * politician.

Bavaria will not shut itself off from housing a repository.

However, Söder * does not consider it appropriate to make a direct offer to build a repository in Bavaria.

Bavaria's Environment Minister

(Free Voters) emphasized that geology is above ideology.

A decision must be made on the basis of scientific knowledge.

Glauber sharply criticized the process.

It is not targeted to

identify

54 percent of the federal area mainly on the basis of

.

The

politician judged

the long-term work of the

: "Even a geology

student

in the third semester can do that."

BGE: Gorleben was excluded for scientific reasons

The Germany-wide procedure in this dimension would create unnecessary uncertainty.

“There is no location that has been more closely examined than Gorleben,” says Glauber.

Therefore, he could not understand the exclusion.

Bavarian authorities and research institutions would examine the findings and ask questions to the BGE in order to clear up any ambiguities.

At the press conference in Berlin, the representatives of the BGE had previously stated that the Gorleben salt dome had been excluded for scientific reasons.

Among other things, the salt dome has a non-intact overburden, and the water chemistry speaks against the location.

Criticism from Bavaria: Authority now names possible nuclear waste disposal

Update from September 28, 11:41 a.m.:

Bavaria's Environment Minister

(Free Voters) has sharply criticized the fact that the

no longer taken into account in the search for a repository.

“The removal of Gorleben is incomprehensible.

The further procedure has a credibility problem without Gorleben, ”said Glauber on Monday in Munich.

One therefore looks very critically at the interim report of the Federal Association for Final Storage (BGE) presented on Monday.

Only the salt dome turned out to be unsuitable.

A look at the interactive map of the BGE shows that there is tertiary and pretertiary claystone in the region around Gorleben.

Thus, the environment is still taken into account.

+

Areas around Gorleben are still considered in the search for a repository for nuclear waste.

© Screenshot: Federal Agency for Final Storage

Update from September 28th, 10:48 am:

"The German geology is so cheap from north to south and from east to west that we can say with conviction that this will result in the one location with the

for the final disposal of highly radioactive waste let “, that was the core result of the first investigations, explained managing director of the Federal Association for Final Storage Stefan Studt at a press conference in Berlin.

the area of ​​Germany will continue to be considered.

Search for a repository: transparency and public involvement

It should be noted that a sub-area is by no means a

, but is only taken into account in the further investigation.

Above all, it is important that

in the decision-making process and that the public is informed responsibly, explained Managing Director Steffen Kanitz.

+

90 sub-areas are in the running in the search for a repository for nuclear waste.

The different colors symbolize the types of rock: violet and magenta: clay rock, green and blue: rock salt, orange: crystalline host rock.

© Graphic: Litzka, source: Federal Association for Final Storage

Political pressure is irrelevant - the search for a repository is based on science

Gorleben

is excluded as a repository because there are no favorable geological conditions, explained Kanitz.

The aim is to find the best possible location, Gorleben does not meet this requirement.

Political conflicts have nothing to do with the exclusion of Gorleben.

Only

has led to it.

There is no ranking between the designated sub-areas, explained Kanitz, because the aim is not to compare the areas, but to identify generally favorable areas.

Search for a repository: Interim report for sub-areas published - Gorleben is out

Update from September 28th, 9.30 a.m.:

The sub-areas stretch across Germany.

The interim report sub-areas has been published.

In northern Germany in particular, many sub-areas seem suitable for a repository, as well as in eastern Germany.

The Saarland is apparently less cheap.

There is not a single stretch of land left in the running.

Large parts of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse are also unsuitable.

It is different in the south.

Many areas in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria are still being considered when looking for a

.

The Federal Agency for Final Storage (BGE) has designated 90 sub-areas in total.

The company offers an interactive map with an overview of all regions on its homepage.

Update from September 28, 9:06 a.m.:

When looking for a nuclear waste repository in Germany, the

salt

in Lower Saxony is completely out of the running, according to a media report.

Gorleben is not shown as a so-called sub-area in an eagerly awaited interim

report by

the Federal Agency for Final Storage, as the

on Sunday from parliamentary groups.

are now

on the list of possible locations for the first time.

+++ Data analysis and graphics for the search for a final repository: Authority names possible locations for nuclear waste +++

First report from September 25th:

Peine / Munich - Which ten to 100 locations are possible when looking for a repository for German nuclear waste - that will be

officially announced by

the

on Monday, September 28th.

Because there are already three smaller German repositories, but they are not enough and in some cases are even unsuitable.

However, the radioactive waste that

arises - or has already arisen -

from the generation of energy in

and

has to go somewhere

.

The publication on Monday will be followed by many years of exploration and certainly bitter discussions.

The background to the current search for a repository: The previous capacities are nowhere near sufficient.

Therefore

have to be found.

The BGE has assessed possible locations.

The first result comes on September 28th: ​​"We divide the Federal Republic of Germany into two parts - those regions that cannot be considered, and those regions that appear interesting and will be further investigated in the further process," says Steffen Kanitz, managing director of UBI.

“There will be at least ten and a maximum of 100 areas.” A final decision is then scheduled to be

.

Search for a final repository for nuclear waste: Mathematically, the amount would cover all of Munich

Overall, the federal government assumes in the worst case around 600,000 cubic meters of waste that has to be stored.

Of course, this is only a classification of the amount - where specifically in a few years an underground repository will be slumbering will become clearer than ever on September 28th.

Several factors play a role in assessing a location.

The minimum requirements include above all

.

Only certain stones are suitable for deep deposits over

.

It is also relevant how tight a room is, i.e. whether particles and gases can escape through the rock layers and at what depth the storage facility could be set up.

An area can only remain in the selection process if all the minimum requirements are met.

Many exclusion criteria are also taken into account.

Unsuitable locations, where volcanism could occur or rock slabs move, are excluded from the assessment.

Places where mining was carried out are also no longer taken into account.

"Because any influence on the rock leads to its protective effect being weakened," explains Dagmar Dehmer in a BGE video.

From interim storage to repository: radioactive waste is looking for a place to stay for a million years

Initially, the still

waste is

stored

in

- often on the site of a power plant itself.

When storing the waste, a distinction is made between low, medium and high radioactive levels, depending on the harmfulness to health.

The radioactivity of the substances decreases over time.

Waste with weak to medium radiation can be transported to repository.

Most of the

comes from nuclear power plants.

Typical waste in this case is filters, scrap metal, paper, laboratory waste, construction waste, wood, sludge or mixed waste.

The waste is not only created during energy production, but especially when

, rubbish remains behind.

Nuclear engineering processes that lead to nuclear waste are also used in research and industry.

As the Federal Agency for Final Storage explains, there are currently three final repositories in Germany:

.

However, storage in the

mine

in the Wolfenbüttel district has turned out to be unsuitable.

Therefore, a

the

nuclear waste stored

between

is currently

planned.

The waste with a volume of 47,000 cubic meters has to be relocated.

This was passed by law in 2013.

The

repository,

in turn, contains 37,000 cubic meters of low and medium level radioactive waste.

Nuclear waste was disposed of there between 1971 and 1998.

The plant is also to be shut down.

The stored materials remain in place.

The

repository

in Lower Saxony is the first repository in Germany approved under nuclear law.

As soon as it is completed, the warehouse will offer space for 303,000 cubic meters of low and medium level radioactive waste.

Atomic energy: Six German nuclear power plants are still active

In general, Germany wants to

out

completely

.

Six nuclear power plants are currently still in operation.

The locations

are to be shut down by the end of 2021.

The

one year later.

The repository that is currently being sought must therefore also be sufficient for the nuclear waste that is still generated.

Transparency: Our data, sources and methods

In our research, we used information and data from the Federal Agency for Repository Search, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.