Germany faces major nuclear waste transport involving 152 containers

Germany is facing one of the largest road transports of nuclear waste in several decades. The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) has approved the transport of 152 containers of spent fuel to the interim storage facility in Ahaus, North Rhine-Westphalia. The DPA news agency reported this today. Germany has completely phased out nuclear power, disconnecting its last reactors from the grid in 2023.

It is not yet clear when the transport will begin. According to BASE, it could happen as early as the end of this year. The permit is valid until the end of August 2027. The 152 containers hold a total of about 300.000 fuel elements in the form of graphite spheres roughly the size of tennis balls. The vehicles used to transport the containers can carry only one at a time.

The nuclear waste comes from a research reactor in Jülich, in western North Rhine-Westphalia, about 170 kilometres from the interim storage facility in Ahaus. Germany does not yet have a permanent nuclear waste repository, so it currently uses 16 interim storage facilities, according to DPA.

DPA noted that the waste from the Jülich reactor has been the subject of disputes for years. The permit to store fuel at the nuclear complex expired in 2013, after which the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Economic Affairs ordered the storage facility to be cleared for safety reasons. Three options were considered: in addition to interim storage in Ahaus, the fuel could be transported to the US or a new interim storage facility could be built in Jülich. The authorities ultimately chose Ahaus, a decision later upheld by the courts. The city said today, however, that it would take legal action against the transports, according to DPA.

The transports are expected to be accompanied by demonstrations by environmental activists, as has happened in the past during other shipments of spent nuclear fuel.

Germany is still looking for a site for the permanent disposal of radioactive waste from its reactors. The site selection process formally began in 2017 and, under the original timetable, is due to continue until the end of 2031. However, the media already expect significant delays, meaning the country may not select a specific site until after 2045. Environment Ministry estimates say that about 600.000 cubic metres of highly radioactive material will need to be stored for a million years.