Intensive exchange on Swiss repository at event in Waldshut

Information event on the Swiss siting proposal at the town hall of Waldshut, with Ina Stelljes, head of BASE's Participation Department at the microphone. Source: BASE

On the occasion of the site announcement for the Swiss repository for nuclear waste, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) hosted a public information event in Waldshut on Thursday.

There were around eighty visitors in the town hall and almost 240 participants on the livestream, who took the opportunity to pose questions to the representatives of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy and the National Co-operative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra). The main focus was on the geological suitability of the proposed Nördlich Lägern site, as well as the impacts and a possible compensation for neighbouring German municipalities. Further questions referred to safety aspects of the planned above-ground packaging plant and to how German interests are taken into account in public participation. Numerous representatives of regional and local politics were also on the podium and in the audience - they all agreed that the involvement of the public and a constructive monitoring of the Swiss procedure were as important as they were necessary.

In her welcoming address, Ina Stelljes, head of the department for public participation at BASE, made it clear that the initial reactions to the Swiss announcement showed many questions but also concerns. "We will not be able to finally answer all these questions today. But it is important to me to give room to them here." The central issue, she said, was to ensure safety regarding highly dangerous substances from the use of nuclear energy. "This safety concern unites us, both on the Swiss and the German side. And, in the search for a safe repository site, both sides rely primarily on geological facts."

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) is accompanying the Swiss procedure on behalf of the German government. The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) is supporting the cross-border work of the authorities and the public with technical and participation expertise on the part of the German side.

The German Expert Group on a Deep Geological Repository in Switzerland (Expertengruppe Schweizer Tiefenlager (ESchT)) is preparing an assessment of the comprehensibility of the siting proposal on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV). The ESchT has been providing technical support for the Swiss repository search since 2006.

The BASE event in Waldshut will be documented and will soon be available on the BASE website, together with all the information, presentations and contributions provided that evening.