7 Jul (Nucnet): The procedure for choosing a deep geologic repository site in Germany could start as soon as 2017, but the facility itself might not be operational until the next century, a commission of scientists, industry leaders and civil society representatives has said.
In a 682-page report, the Commission on Storage of High-Level Radioactive Waste Materials says it had originally hoped to see a decision on the final site of a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste from Germany’s nuclear plants by 2031, with the facility itself scheduled to open in 2050.
But even that timetable was described by commission president Michael Müller as "ambitious". The final report says the facility might only enter service “in the next century”.
The report says the procedure for choosing the repository site should start only after both chambers of parliament have amended current legislation in line with the commission’s recommendations. The commission calls for this to happen “as soon as possible” and suggests 2017 as a possible date for starting the selection process.
The commission said safety and sustainability have been its guiding principles in the work it has done. It said the search for a site is not solely a technical task, but should consider the “social and cultural magnitude” of the challenge. The report says the site selection process which should be science-based and open to extensive public participation with bodies at regional, inter-regional and national level.
However, the report says the commission still believes a “conflict” between the various social stakeholders taking part in site selection could overshadow the process and the reports includes recommendations for conflict mitigation.
The 34-member commission was established in 2013 with a mandate to design a fair and transparent process for the selection of a national repository.
Immediate action should be taken to set up the legal framework for restarting the selection process in view of the moratorium on the further exploration of the Gorleben salt dome in in Lower Saxony, the report says.
The Gorleben salt mine in Lower Saxony, northern Germany, has been under investigation as a potential repository site. A moratorium on the evaluation of Gorleben was introduced in 2000 by the former Social Democrat and Green Party administration, but ended in 2010 and exploration was restarted.
However, work at the site was discontinued again at the end of 2012 to allow for a political compromise on site selection and then ended in July 2013. The site is being kept open, but secured, and Gorleben will not be excluded from any new site selection process
The report did not shortlist any particular locations for the repository and said the final decision will depend on the outcome of site exploration analysis. Studies will involve all potentially suitable rock types and locations.
The commission has embedded in its recommendations the principle of “reversal of decisions” as a way to correct errors during the selection process. This means the process can remain open for future generations to review it from their perspective.
“The commission's recommendations are here, now they have to be implemented swiftly and the next steps should be taken,” Barbara Hendicks, Germany’s minister of the environment, nature conservation, building and nuclear safety (BMUB) said in a statement published after the report was released. The statement said a method which treats all potential sites equally is “the basic requirement” to build confidence in the site selection process.
Ms Hendicks welcomed the joint conclusions drawn by the commission despite “some conflicting opinions in the past” and said: “They [the conclusions] could greatly contribute to settle a dispute that has divided our country for decades”.
She said the report presents “good basis” for legislation and will now be “evaluated carefully” in the German parliament.
German Atomic Forum (DAtF) president Ralf Güldner said the commission had not entirely fulfilled the need for a consensus on the repository issue. He said parts of the report focus on past controversies and it seems they are “more important” than the necessary conclusions for the future. Nevertheless, “a considerable report has been prepared”, Mr Güldner said.
Nuclear utilities in Germany are responsible for interim storage until a repository is built. Operators are required to ensure local interim storage facilities are built to reduce transport to existing central interim storage sites at Gorleben, and at Ahaus, in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany.
The report is online (German): http://bit.ly/29v9MW8
