“New trouble is guaranteed”

The German parliament’s vote to free nuclear plant operators of their liabilities for managing nuclear waste disposal has not ensured that all troubles have been dispelled, writes Michael Bauchmüller in Süddeutsche Zeitung. “New frictions are guaranteed, especially in areas where responsibility is transferred from companies to the state,” he says. Facilities for temporarily storing radioactive residues are usually located on the utilities’ premises. Skilled workers and the equipment needed for disposing the waste are mostly owned by plant operators. “Theoretically, the companies could get a small share of their billions back – as service providers,” Bauchmüller argues.

Read the article in German here.

For background see the CLEW dossier The challenges of Germany’s nuclear phase-out and the CLEW factsheet Securing utility payments for the nuclear clean-up.