Anti-nuclear movement: dismantling of the Gorleben salt dome can begin

Anti-nuclear movement: dismantling of the Gorleben salt dome can begin

The protest in Wendland against the planned Endlanger in Gorleben lasted for decades. Now the salt dome is to be restored to its original state within ten years.

The dismantling of the Gorleben salt dome in Lower Saxony, which has been fiercely contested for a long time, can begin. The Federal Ministry for the Environment commissioned the Federal Agency for Disposal (BGE) to close and backfill the pit, as the Ministry announced.

In the 1970s, politicians made the decision to set up a repository in the Gorleben salt dome in Wendland, which resulted in decades of protests. After a long period of trouble, the repository search had been completely restarted. A citizens’ initiative rated the order for closure and backfilling as an important milestone in Gorleben’s history.

In autumn 2020, the BGE announced that large parts of Germany are basically suitable for a nuclear repository according to geological criteria – but Gorleben is not among them. Geological defects were cited as the reason. However, politicians had also criticized the fact that the Gorleben salt dome was removed from the process. Last September it was decided that the salt dome should be closed for good.

As State Secretary for the Environment Stefan Tidow (Greens) said on Tuesday, the dismantling of the mine can now begin with the decision. Last year, the BGE said that the salt dome should be restored to its original state within ten years.

Source: Stern

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