Grafenrheinfeld (dpa/lby) – Four containers with low-level radioactive waste from North Rhine-Westphalia are due to arrive at the site of the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant in Lower Franconia. According to the operator Preussen Elektra, these are containers from the Würgassen nuclear power plant, which are being taken to interim storage in preparation for the further dismantling of the plant.
According to a spokeswoman for the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant on Wednesday, it is not yet clear when the containers will be taken to the planned repository for less radioactive waste in the Konrad mine in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony. According to previous plans, Schacht Konrad is scheduled to go into operation in 2027.
According to Preussen Elektra, the operator of the interim storage facility in Grafenrheinfeld near Schweinfurt, the company for interim storage (BGZ), is currently examining the documents submitted. It is not yet clear when the four containers will be transported to Lower Franconia.
There are two interim storage facilities in Grafenrheinfeld. The planned period of operation of the interim storage facility for high-level radioactive waste, i.e. nuclear fuel elements, ends in 2046. According to the BGZ, the storage facility is currently occupied with 54 Castor casks, 88 are possible. So far, there is no repository for highly radioactive nuclear waste in Germany.
The containers from NRW are to go to the other interim storage facility for low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste, which was put into operation last year – there is no limit for this.
The nuclear power plant in Grafenrheinfeld was commissioned in 1981 and shut down in 2015. The dismantling has been going on there since 2018.
