Switzerland proposes nuclear repository near German border

Source: pixabay

Switzerland's National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) has proposed a repository site in Nördlich Lägern, north of Zurich. The municipality of Hohentengen am Hochrhein in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg is located only a few kilometres to the northwest of the site. The planned repository is meant to accommodate all of Switzerland's radioactive waste.

The German Expert Group on Swiss Deep Repositories (ESchT) will now prepare an assessment of the plausibility of the site suggestion, and evaluate it on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). The BMUV had already established the ESchT in 2006 to provide expert support for the Swiss repository search.

The BMUV is in charge of monitoring the Swiss procedure on behalf of the German Federal Government, and the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) is responsible for the cross-border participation of authorities and the public. As the federal authority responsible for repository projects, it supports the BMUV with technical and participation expertise.

A public information event organised by BASE, which will also be live streamed, will take place in Waldshut on 22 September 2022.

Further information on the Swiss repository search and the information event can be found on the website of BASE and the German Coordination Office for Swiss Deep Geological Repositories. Nagra's site announcement can be found at the following link. The consultation results of the ESchT can be found at www.escht.de.