Repository search

The Sub-areas Interim Report is the first milestone on the way to a repository for high-level radioactive waste in Germany. It identifies areas in which favourable geological conditions for the safe final disposal of high-level radioactive waste can be expected.

What is the BGE’s approach to site selection? Why not shoot radioactive waste to the moon? How is the repository search financed? We answer these and other questions concerning the search for a repository site for high-level radioactive waste here.

The procedure of the site selection procedure is laid down in the Repository Site Selection Act. The aim of the procedure is to find the best possible site for a repository for radioactive waste, especially heat-generating waste. Full public participation is envisaged.

Many actors are involved in the search for a repository for radioactive waste, especially heat-generating waste. In addition, various organisations are involved in the day-to-day operation of the existing plants.

In Germany, the government is tasked with the final disposal of radioactive waste. Suitable locations have been sought for several decades. However, a repository for especially high-level radioactive waste has not yet been found.

The salt dome in Gorleben underwent several decades of exploratory work interspersed with several-years of interruptions. The suitability as repository for high-level radioactive waste was to be assessed using exploratory measures. Final results are not yet available.