Announcement – Konrad repository

On Monday evening, electric cables at a length of 700 metres fell from the ceiling. They had been provisionally fixed at the ceiling of a gallery in the future Konrad repository in Salzgitter while construction work was performed in this part of the mine. The cables included six-kilovolt supply cables ensuring the power supply for other construction sites. Subsequently, 30 employees working on four construction sites were cut off from the power supply. The construction work is aimed at establishing the infrastructure for the future repository on the second level at a depth of 900 metres. On Tuesday, it was expected that the late shift would be able to resume work on these construction sites.

Nobody was injured in the incident. Dr. Jan Tegtmeier, operations manager, reported the incident immediately to the mining authority of Lower Saxony (LBEG). “The BGE learns from this incident that quality assurance must always be strictly implemented, even in the case of temporary installations”, said Dr. Thomas Lautsch, Technical Director of the BGE. The BGE would now look more closely at any “interim conditions” in the construction phase and find better solutions.

In the Konrad mine, the BGE currently constructs the repository for radioactive waste with negligible heat generation that was authorised in 2007. The incident happened in a part of the mine where the infrastructure facilities for the future repository are being built. The staff currently works in four shifts in the Konrad mine.

Power supply lines in the Konrad mine