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Citizens take legal action against interim nuclear waste storage facility in Gundremmingen

Hazardous nuclear waste is to be stored at the sites of former German nuclear power plants for decades to come. Local residents are concerned about this. In Gundremmingen, some of them are therefore taking legal action. The issue was taken to court many years ago.

A hall where nuclear waste is stored on the site of the former nuclear power plant. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de
A hall where nuclear waste is stored on the site of the former nuclear power plant. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

The Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH) must once again deal with the safety of the interim nuclear waste storage facility in Gundremmingen, Swabia. On Thursday (10.00 a.m.), the Munich judges will hear complaints from landowners in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant.

The VGH had already dismissed complaints against the storage facility in Gundremmingen (Günzburg district) and the two other interim storage facilities in Bavaria in 2006 when the storage of spent fuel elements began. The current plaintiffs are nevertheless demanding that the license for the spent fuel storage facility at the now decommissioned nuclear reactor, which dates back to 2003, be revoked. The plaintiffs continue to see their safety at risk. They criticize the fact that the risks of a plane crashing into the storage facility and terrorist attacks have not been adequately assessed.

The federally owned operator of the interim storage facilities, BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung, rejects this. "The BGZ interim storage facilities are among the best-secured facilities in Germany," said a company spokesperson. The protection of the facilities against terrorism is constantly checked by the security authorities and adjusted if necessary. The nuclear storage facility is also safe in the event of an airplane crashing into the building.

The interim storage facilities were planned and built at the sites of the German nuclear power plants in the early 2000s. The idea was that nuclear waste would be stored at the decentralized sites until a final storage facility was available in Germany.

Gundremmingen is one of the largest nuclear sites in Germany. The first large nuclear power plant in Germany was connected to the grid in the Swabian municipality in 1966, and two more reactors were later built. The nuclear power plant was shut down on New Year's Eve 2021.

Info Federal Office on the Gundremmingen interim storage facility Overview of German interim storage facilities

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Source: www.stern.de

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