The Asse mine represents a nuclear legacy issue. In light of current standards, the storage of radioactive waste in such a facility is unacceptable. Since 2009, the primary objective has been to decommission the Asse mine in a manner that guarantees long-term safety.

As the operator of the facility, the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) mbH is legally obliged to retrieve the waste from the Asse mine. The rationale behind this approach was a comparative analysis of potential decommissioning strategies conducted in 2010. It concluded that the only way to guarantee long-term safety in accordance with legal requirements was to retrieve the waste. The success of the waste retrieval process is yet to be determined.

As the supervisory authority under nuclear law, BASE's primary objective is to ensure the radiological safety of the Asse workers and the population. This will be the overarching focus throughout the current operation and future decommissioning of the Asse mine.

Dates and facts

• 1967-1978: Storage of approx. 126,000 casks (47,000 m³) of low- to intermediate-level radioactive waste. The operator of the mine was Gesellschaft für Strahlenforschung (now: Helmholtz Zentrum München; HMGU).
• From 1971: Asse II serves as a repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from all over Germany.
• 1979-1997: Research is conducted on the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in salt
• 1997: The federal government decides to decommission the Asse II mine under mining law. The original plan had been to backfill the mine with solid material.
• 2009: The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) becomes the operator. Since then, the Asse II mine has been subject not only to mining law but also to nuclear law.
• 2013: Decision to retrieve the stored waste. This is enshrined in the Atomic Energy Act.
• Since 2017, BGE has been the operator of the mine.

Want to know more?

Detailed information on the Asse II mine is provided by the BGE.