Completion of final repository for low level nuclear waste delayed by 5 years

The opening of the low and medium-level nuclear waste final storage facility in the retired iron ore mine Schacht Konrad, near the German town of Salzgitter, will be postponed to 2027, writes Susanne Ehlerding in an article in Der Tagesspiegel. It was originally supposed to be loaded for 30 years from 2022 onward. The delay is due to administrative and regulatory changes, meaning construction company contracts had to be re-negotiated, among other things. State secretary in the environment ministry Jochen Flasbarth said that while the start would be postponed, loading would be accelerated. The facility will be used to store low and medium-level nuclear waste from decommissioned nuclear power plants, such as parts of the building structure.

For background, read the CLEW factsheet What to do with the nuclear waste – the storage question and the dossier The challenges of Germany’s nuclear phase-out.