Switzerland wants a repository for nuclear waste on the German border

Switzerland has been looking for a repository for its nuclear waste for decades. Now it is clear where it is to be stored: in Nördlich Lägern – within sight of German towns.

View of the deep drilling work in the Nördlich Lägern siting region for the deep repository of the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) (photo from April 12, 2019).

Ennio Leanza / Keystone

pop. /(dpa) Switzerland’s decision to locate its nuclear waste repository near Hohentengen in Baden-Württemberg was met with skepticism on both sides of the border. The Nördlich Lägern area was classified as rather unsuitable a few years ago, but has now been selected from the three remaining locations, as the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) announced on Saturday evening. Nagra wants to explain this in more detail on Monday.

In addition, an information event is planned for September 15 in Hohentengen, at which Nagra will explain its decision on site. There were two other locations to choose from, which are also very close to the German border.

Baden-Württemberg insists on the protection of citizens

Baden-Württemberg insists on protecting the citizens living in the region. State Environment Minister Thekla Walker (Greens) announced on Sunday in Stuttgart: “The protection of our citizens from radioactive radiation must be guaranteed, but especially groundwater protection.” Walker said they are taking note of the plans and will now examine them more closely.

The Nördlich Lägern location is in the immediate vicinity of the border, particularly to the Waldshut district, but also to the districts of Lörrach, Constance and the Schwarzwald-Baar district. The people of Baden-Württemberg are thus making a major contribution to the disposal of Swiss nuclear waste. “From our point of view, this must be adequately reflected in the upcoming compensation negotiations,” said Walker.

Martin Steinebrunner, who represents the German Coordination Office for Swiss Deep Repository (DKST) at the regional association Hochrhein-Bodensee, told the German Press Agency (DPA): “When negotiating compensation payments, we want to be appropriately involved, both in the negotiations and in the outcome. Some German communities are closer to the camp than Swiss communities, which should be taken into account.” Now the planned surface structures would have to be specified. The initially planned buildings are about 2.3 kilometers south of the state border. “You have to recognize that Switzerland has a rational process and involves those affected. It remains to be seen whether we would be able to do this just as well in Germany if our repository site were near the border,” emphasized Steinebrunner.

Questions about accident scenarios

The mayor of Hohentengen, Martin Benz, wants to “scrutinize” the decision-makers very carefully, as he told the DPA. “You have to explain very well why a deferred location suddenly becomes the preferred location,” he said. The residents are aware that the radioactive waste is there and must be disposed of, said Benz. They are also in the safest place for storage. “But these questions have to be answered: What are the possible accident scenarios and how are you prepared for them?”

The German Federal Environment Ministry described Switzerland’s decision on Saturday evening as a burden for the affected communities. The location near the border “represents a great burden for this and surrounding communities both in the construction phase and in the operation of the repository,” said Christian Kühn, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for the Environment and member of the Bundestag from Baden-Württemberg, on request.

Germany does not yet have a repository

“I am working with Switzerland to ensure that the previous good integration of the German neighbors is continued,” says Kühn. The Swiss Deep Repository Expert Group (ESchT) will now, on behalf of the ministry, make an assessment of the plausibility of the site proposal and evaluate it. The BMUV set up the ESchT back in 2006 to provide technical support for the Swiss search for a repository.

In Germany, the decision on a repository site for highly radioactive nuclear waste will be made in 2031 at the earliest. The fuel elements currently end up in interim storage facilities, which are usually located at the sites of the nuclear power plants. The procedure in Germany was started again from the beginning in 2013 and should be completed by 2031, from 2050 storage could then begin. A repository for less radioactive waste is scheduled to go into operation in 2027 in the Konrad mine in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony.

The other two Swiss locations that were still available are also very close to the German border. Jura Ost is south-east of Bad Säckingen, Zürich north-east west of Jestetten. This is because there is Opalinus Clay underground, which is well suited for the safe disposal of radioactive waste. Specifically, it is about 9,300 cubic meters of high-level radioactive waste and 72,000 cubic meters of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.

Storage to be finally sealed in 2125

Nagra intends to submit a planning application by 2024. The government then decides on the approval, and Parliament must approve the resolution. In Switzerland, however, a referendum can be enforced. That would probably not take place before 2031. If the decision is not rejected, then construction begins. The multi-year emplacement would begin around 2050. The camp would then be observed for several decades. Around 2125 it will be finally sealed and the structures on the surface will be dismantled.

It is still unclear where the packaging for final storage is to take place. The waste is currently in an interim storage facility for nuclear waste in Würenlingen, around 15 kilometers south of the German municipality of Waldshut-Tiengen.

source site-111