Tainted by Gorleben. The issue of radioactive waste storage in Germany
Tainted by Gorleben. The issue of radioactive waste storage in Germany

Author(s): Michał Kędzierski
Subject(s): Environmental and Energy policy, Government/Political systems, Human Ecology
Published by: OSW Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich im. Marka Karpia
Keywords: radioactive waste storage; Germany; Gorleben;
Summary/Abstract: The search continues in Germany for a site for final repository of high-level radioactive waste. A disused salt mine in Gorleben, which was earmarked as the site more than forty years ago, has been definitively eliminated as a choice due to not meeting geological requirements. For years, the choice of the site was a source of severe protest, and this was a major factor in the founding of the Green Party in 1980. Still today, the issue of permanent storage of radioactive waste in Germany is stigmatized. The new process of finding a site has been devised to avoid making the same mistakes made many years ago, when the decision was made in an enigmatic manner with no public consultations. Although the decision as to the new and definitive site was intended to be made on the basis of scientific criteria, the matter has again become a political matter and will also be a major campaign issue in the run-up to the Bundestag elections. This will call into doubt the credibility of the entire process and could seriously hamper the making of the final decision, envisaged by 2031.

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