Ahaus interim storage facility: Storage of fuel elements from Garching research reactor approved

The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) has granted BGZ permission to store up to 21 CASTOR casks with fuel elements from the research reactor FRM II at the Ahaus interim storage facility. Further steps are required before the first transports to Ahaus can take place, so a date has not yet been set.

The Ahaus interim storage facility in western Münsterland is used to store spent fuel elements from nuclear power plants and research reactors, as well as low- and medium-level radioactive waste. © BGZ/C. Mick

The Ahaus interim storage facility in western Münsterland is used to store spent fuel elements from nuclear power plants and research reactors, as well as low- and medium-level radioactive waste. © BGZ/C. Mick

“The licence that has been granted certifies that we can store the containers safely and that the protection of people and the environment is guaranteed at all times,” explains Stefan Weber, Head of the Licensing Department of BGZ, Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH. BGZ submitted comprehensive evidence of damage prevention measures, which were reviewed by BASE and independent experts in accordance with the current state of science and technology. “The positive outcome of the review shows that the storage of fuel elements at the Ahaus interim storage facility meets the high requirements of the German Atomic Energy Act,” says Weber.

“We are fulfilling our contractual obligations by storing the fuel elements from FRM II,” explains Dr. David Knollmann, press spokesman for the BGZ’s north-west interim storage facilities. The storage of fuel elements from German research reactors at the Ahaus interim storage facility is the result of long-standing agreements. The city of Ahaus agreed to this back in 1993. On this basis, the then operator of the interim storage facility concluded contracts with the operators of German research reactors in 2000.

Together with the spent fuel elements from the Dresden-Rossendorf research reactor, highly radioactive waste from German research has been stored in the Ahaus interim storage facility since 2005. © BGZ / C. Mick

Together with the spent fuel elements from the Dresden-Rossendorf research reactor, highly radioactive waste from German research has been stored in the Ahaus interim storage facility since 2005. © BGZ / C. Mick

At the same time as the storage licence, BASE also granted a licence for the transport of initially two CASTOR casks from Garching to Ahaus. This had been applied for by a logistics company on behalf of FRM II. Before the transport can begin, the nuclear regulatory authorities of the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, as well as the police authorities involved, must give their approval. Finally, appeals can be filed against the permits, which would in principle have a suspensive effect. This means that storage of the CASTOR casks would not be possible for the time being due to ongoing legal proceedings.

Source: Translated from the press release from BGZ, Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH.