Pavel: People are often unnecessarily worried about a radioactive waste repository in Czechia

People are often unnecessarily worried about a radioactive waste repository, President Petr Pavel said yesterday after visiting the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant. He said the concerns mostly stem from the public not having enough information about the issue. Pavel added that radioactive waste repositories are completely safe.

"Deep geological repositories pose absolutely no risk to residents. But people know very little about them and are more likely to fear that the value of their land and property will fall if a repository is located nearby. On the other hand, if people are told about the advantages and disadvantages, and know about the compensation they may receive, the situation could be much more favourable," the president said.

Thousands of tonnes of spent fuel from nuclear power plants are to be permanently stored in the repository half a kilometre underground. The Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO) is currently considering four sites for the repository: the municipalities of Horka and Hrádek in the Vysočina region, Janoch near the Temelín nuclear power plant in South Bohemia, and Březový potok in the Klatovy region. The authority wants to select the most suitable site by 2030. Last autumn, the Ministry of the Environment approved surveys at three sites: Horka, Janoch and Březový potok in the Klatovy region. Some of the affected municipalities are actively opposing the plans and demanding that their opposition be given greater weight.

"In any case, we will have to discuss the repository. It is not possible to keep storing spent fuel at the power plants themselves indefinitely. It is also possible that a cost-effective technology for re-enriching spent fuel will be developed. But even so, we should build at least one repository in the country," Pavel said.

The repository, which is expected to cost more than 100 billion crowns, was originally due to be built by 2065. There is talk of accelerating construction because nuclear power has been temporarily classified as a green investment in the EU. The condition is that countries relying on nuclear power must have deep geological repositories by 2050.