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Germany's Nuclear Waste Repository Search
Germany's search for a permanent nuclear waste repository focuses on northern Nordrhein-Westfalen, with 44% of the country still under consideration. The BGE is using interactive maps to guide the process, aiming for a million-year safe storage solution.
German
Germany
Germany Energy SecuritySafetyGeologyNuclear WasteSite Selection
Bundesgesellschaft Für Endlagerung (Bge)Bundestag
- How is the BGE communicating its progress and findings to the public?
- The BGE (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung) is using interactive maps to display the ongoing investigation, providing reasons for classifying areas as unsuitable or still under consideration based on geological factors like the type of rock.
- Are areas currently deemed unsuitable permanently excluded from consideration?
- While some areas are currently deemed unsuitable, the BGE clarifies that this doesn't rule them out permanently. The final decision on above-ground explorations will involve the Bundestag after the initial phase of site selection concludes.
- What criteria are being used to identify suitable locations for the waste repository?
- The search is focusing on areas with suitable rock layers, and approximately 44 percent of the country is still being considered. The goal is to find a location that can safely store the waste for a million years.
- How much highly radioactive waste needs to be stored, and where is it currently located?
- The highly radioactive waste, accumulated over more than 60 years of nuclear power, amounts to about 27,000 cubic meters and is currently stored in 16 temporary above-ground facilities across Germany.
- What is the current status of the search for a permanent repository for highly radioactive waste in Germany?
- Northern Nordrhein-Westfalen in Germany is still largely under consideration as a potential site for a German repository for highly radioactive nuclear waste, four years after the search began.