Empty Castor container goes to Ahaus
On Tuesday evening, an empty Castor container left Jülich for Ahaus in Westphalia to test the process of possible transports of radioactive waste. The convoy left the premises of the Jülich Nuclear Waste Management Company (JEN) as planned at around 10 p.m., as its spokesperson told the German Press Agency when asked. The transport is due to arrive on Wednesday night. As a heavy transport, it is only allowed on the road at night.
The 170-kilometer route leads to Ahaus in the north of Münsterland to the interim storage facility for radioactive waste there. The transport with the empty Castor container will be inspected by the NRW nuclear supervisory authority and experts. During this so-called "cold handling", they are to check the proper handling during loading in Jülich and unloading in Ahaus.
Around 300,000 fuel element spheres are stored in 152 Castor casks at Jülich. They originate from an earlier test reactor. The Federal Ministries of Research, Environment and Finance want to bring the radioactive waste to Ahaus. North Rhine-Westphalia's black-green state government would like to avoid further nuclear transports and leave the fuel element spheres in Jülich. This would require the construction of a new interim storage facility on site.
The trial transport of the Castor cask is the second in a short space of time. At the beginning of November, the first journey ended after a good four hours without any disruptions.
The Jülich Nuclear Waste Management Company (JEN) has 400 employees and the task of dismantling decommissioned nuclear facilities in Jülich. These include, for example, an experimental reactor and a research reactor at the former Jülich nuclear research facility.
The purpose of the transport is to test the process of nuclear power waste transports, as the empty Castor container carries radioactive waste. Upon arrival in Ahaus, the transport will be inspected by the NRW nuclear supervisory authority and experts to ensure proper handling during loading and unloading.
Source: www.dpa.com
