- Sputnik International, 1920
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Switzerland May Build Radioactive Waste Storage Facility Near German Border

© AFP 2023 / FABRICE COFFRINIThe Goesgen nuclear power plant is seen near Daeniken in Switzerland on August 13, 2022
The Goesgen nuclear power plant is seen near Daeniken in Switzerland on August 13, 2022 - Sputnik International, 1920, 11.09.2022
Subscribe
Currently, nuclear waste in Switzerland is held in interim storage facilities and at nuclear power plants, with a deep geological repository believed to be the safest solution for storing the material.
The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (BFE) has stated that an area of northern Switzerland near the border with Germany might be used for the construction of a nuclear waste storage facility.
The Swiss government has yet to approve a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive waste, due to be located in the region of Nordlich Lagern, north of Zurich.
BFE spokeswoman Marianne Zuend told Reuters that the project was initiated by the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (NAGRA), a company which plans to propose the Nordlich Lagern site on Monday.

“This is only an announcement of where they (Nagra) would like to build,” Zuend pointed out, adding that the BFE is overseeing the process.

She also said that “All the details will have to be elaborated now by NAGRA to be put into the official demand that they will submit in about two years' time to the authorities.”
According to NAGRA, the proposal also has yet to get the green light from the Swiss parliament, with the government not expected to make a final decision on the site until 2029. The construction of the repository may only start in 2045.

AFP news agency, in turn, quoted NAGRA spokesman Felix Glauser as saying that they “chose Nordlich Lagern as the safest site for a deep geological repository.”

He referred to “extensive investigations” that he said “have shown that Nordlich Lagern is the most suitable site and has the largest safety reserves.”
Radioactive - Sputnik International, 1920, 23.06.2019
World
Switzerland Might Go Nuclear Again, Party Suggests
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment has voiced concern regarding NAGRA’s plans, which were also slammed by Christian Kuhn, a member of the German parliament (Bundestag) from Baden-Wurttemberg.

He argued that the proximity of the planned nuclear waste storage site to Baden-Württemberg village in Hohentengen “poses a problem both during the construction phase and during the operation of the repository.”

Right now, there are four active nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Switzerland, which may reportedly continue their operation as long as their safety is guaranteed.
As for Germany, the country, faced with possible energy shortages in the winter as gas supplies from Russia have dropped, intends to postpone the closure of its last three NPPs in a move marking a departure from a two-decade policy to abandon nuclear energy, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала