The first nuclear waste repository in Germany to be licensed under nuclear law for the storage of low- level and medium- level radioactive waste is currently being constructed in the Konrad mine. The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) is converting a former iron ore mine in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, for this purpose.

The conversion work required in the former iron ore mine is extensive. For example, the shafts have to be rehabilitated and equipped with the necessary infrastructure. Once the facility is completed, the storage of low- and intermediate- level radioactive waste can begin.

Approximately two-thirds of the radioactive waste scheduled for the Konrad repository originates from nuclear power plants and companies within the nuclear industry. In addition, the Konrad repository is to accept materials from the decommissioning of GDR nuclear power plants, as well as waste from federal research facilities.

Dates and facts

1965-1976: Iron ore mine: Shaft Konrad 1 and Shaft Konrad 2

1976-1982: A review shows that the Konrad mine offers good conditions for a final storage site for low- level and medium- level radioactive waste.

1982: Start of the nuclear planning approval procedure for the construction of a repository.

2002: Planning approval decision

• 2007: The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) commissions the then operator, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), to build the Konrad repository.
• Konrad is the first repository in Germany to be planned and licensed under nuclear law.
• 2029: According to BGE, construction is expected to be completed and commissioning to begin

Want to know more?

The BGE provides detailed information about the Konrad repository.