Switzerland has announced their intention to construct a permanent geological repository for nuclear waste near the German border. Germany responded by saying that they want more information on the Swiss plans. Germany had already expressed some concerns about the proposal. The German government said on Monday that it would not be sending any of its nuclear waste to the planned Swiss repository and that it was seeking talks with Switzerland. Germany said that it was examining the Swiss plans in detail.
The German Environment Ministry has issued a warning that the site of the Swiss repository would “heavily burden communities on the German side of the border.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would have to discuss the Swiss decision “through the usual channels with all those responsible in the Swiss government.”
Swiss authorities made the announcement on Saturday that they had selected the site which is located in the north of the country. Compensation for regions affected by proximity to the site has not yet been decided. Swiss authorities have said that they are open to making payments.
Nuclear power has been a highly sensitive issue in Germany for a long time. Germany is set to take all of its nuclear plants offline at the end of the year. However, there is currently a raging debate over this plan because of anticipated energy shortages due to the Uranian war.
A spokes person for the ministry said that Germany was “very carefully” examining the Swiss decision to construct the nuclear waste repository so close to the German border. The site selected for the repository is at Nördlich Lägern which is about twelve miles north of Zurich. It would have surface structures within one and a quarter miles of the German border. However, it is understood that the underground repository would not cross over into German territory. The ministry said that Germany would not use the Swiss site itself. A spokesperson said, “Germany has decided to construct its own final repository for its nuclear waste and not to share this with European partners. We are responsible for our own waste.”
Nearby German communities have reacted skeptically to the siting of the repository at Nördlich Lägern. Initially, the site was put on hold as a second choice in 2015. Those communities near the planned site of the repository are mainly concerned about the issue of safe drinking water supply.
The Swiss government spent fourteen years on the evaluation process. Nagra is the Swiss nuclear waste authority. They said that the type of clay found in the area of the chosen site provided the best geological barriers, best rock stability and a high degree of flexibility compared with the other two sites short listed. Matthias Braun is the CEO of Nagra. He told a press conference that “Geology has spoken. The core of the deep store is this grey and inconspicuous stone ... here time practically stands still," he said.” Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, industry and research could be safely buried at the site, hundreds of meters underground.
Switzerland also plans to eventually phase out all their nuclear power reactors. It still has four operational nuclear power plants which could continue to operate into the 2040s. Nuclear waste is currently stored at an interim facility that is located about nine miles south of the German border municipality of Waldshut-Tiengen.
Swiss authorities must still give their final decision on the permit for the construction to proceed. The building of the facility would not start until 2031 at the earliest. It would only become operational in 2050. The Swiss government would have to approve the plant with approval also needed from the parliament. It is possible that the issue could potentially be put to a national referendum under Swiss direct democracy.