Nuclear power
Green light for the series of nuclear waste transports in NRW
From Jülich and Garching, nuclear waste rolls towards the Ahaus intermediate camp. More than 150 castors are transported on the street. Criticism also comes from those who are supposed to protect the transports.
With the transport of 152 Castor containers through North Rhine-Westphalia, one of the largest nuclear waste transports on the street has been pending for decades. The Federal Office for the Security of Nuclear Disposal (Base) has approved the controversial nuclear waste transport from Jülich in the Rhenish Jülich to the Ahaus intermediate camp in the Münsterland.
On the 170-kilometer route, around 300,000 fuel element balls from the former test reactor in 152 Castor containers are to be transported to the nuclear waste intermediate warehouse. The transport permit was limited until August 31, 2027 and immediately enforceable, the Federal Office said.
Transports from Jülich do not start immediately
According to previous information from the Federal Office, heavy transports are planned on the street. Accordingly, 152 individual transports have been applied for from Jülich, which could be bundled. There are four suitable transport vehicles that could transport one container at once.
According to the Jülich waste disposal company for nuclear systems (Jen), the client, there is still no specific start date for the transports. The approval contains ancillary provisions that are currently intensively checked and implemented. In addition, further coordination with the nuclear supervision and the police authorities of the state of North Rhine -Westphalia are necessary before the start of transport.
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Years of tug about Jülich nuclear waste
The last operating permit expired for storage in Jülich more than ten years ago in 2013. The NRW Ministry of Economics ordered in 2014 to clear the camp in Jülich because the earthquake security could not be proven. Three options were then checked: Transport to Ahaus or to the USA or the construction of an intermediate camp in Jülich.
NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur (Greens) described Jülich-Haus’s transport as a challenging situation. “152 castors is a large number and that is indeed logistically a challenging situation for all of North Rhine-Westphalia, but above all, of course, for the cities and municipalities affected by the transport route,” she clarified. “We take these worries very seriously.”
From the country’s point of view, a new building in Jülich would have been the best solution. Land and money would have been ready. This solution was not supported by the federal level, criticized Neubaur. In addition, a new building there is impossible without a temporary approval of the interim storage facility in Jülich.
Criticism of environmentalists and the opposition
The BUND for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) NRW criticized that the federal government and the country have gambled a lot of trust. The construction of a safe interim storage facility in Jülich would have been better, said NRW boss Dirk Jansen of the “Rheinische Post”.
The SPD parliamentary group accused the black and green state government of not submitting a financing commitment for the new building and not taking worries about Castor transports seriously. The FDP parliamentary group called the transports “economically and in terms of security”. Neubaur informed the public too late.
Nuclear waste transports to Ahaus have long been causing protests by residents and activists. A judgment of the Higher Administrative Court (OVG) NRW at the end of last year had confirmed the legality of storage in Ahaus. The city of Ahaus and a resident failed with a lawsuit in front of the OVG.
The city of Ahaus checks legal steps against the transports. Ahaus defends itself in the legal framework against the further delivery of highly radioactive waste to the intermediate camp, said Mayor Karola Voß.
According to the Federal Office, the city can object to the transport permit. This would not have a suspensive effect. If the office remained, Ahaus could initiate an urgent procedure at the Berlin-Charlottenburg Administrative Court. Then it was about whether the transport permit immediately remained enforceable.
Criticism also from the ranks of the police
As a “senseless mammoth task”, the NRW state chief of the police union (GdP), Patrick Schlüter, criticized the transports with accompanying protection. Politics are pressing the question of the final storage and prefers to drive nuclear waste from one intermediate camp to the next, he told the “Rheinische Post”.
The police are faced with enormous challenges. The protest potential cannot be estimated that you always have to be prepared for everything. The GdP does not have the feeling that “this state government would have really fought to save our police this senseless mammoth task”.
Also from Bavaria Nuclear waste to Ahaus
The Federal Office also approved two nuclear waste transport from the research reactor from the Technical University of Munich in Garching to Ahaus. According to the application, ten fuel elements are to be transported in two road transports. The transport permit was valid until May 31, 2027.
There are currently no repository in Germany in which radiant nuclear waste is to be stored safely over a hundreds of thousands of years. Instead, there are sixteen interim stores, including that in Ahaus.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
