A NEW APPROACH FOR SITING A RADIOACTIVE WASTE REPOSITORY IN GERMANY

摘要

According to the new nuclear policy of the German government the entire radioactive waste management hadrnto be reviewed. With respect to the repository projects the exploration at the potential repository site atrnGorleben was stopped following an agreement between the German government and the utility companies. Thernselection of the Gorleben salt dome in 1977 was mainly a product of geo-scientific and economic criteria.rnPublic involvement in a transparent site selection procedure was not included. To examine further sites inrndifferent host rock formations, a group of experts (AkEnd) had been appointed by the Federal Ministry for thernEnvironment to develop in a first step a new site selection procedure. The procedure should be built upon wellfoundedrncriteria with a clear transparent structure. Public participation should be an indispensable part fromrnthe very beginning. The AkEnd-Committee started its work in 1999 and its final recommendations are presentedrnin the paper. Following a decision of the German Parliament in 2010 at least two sites will be selected forrnunderground exploration and the repository shall be operable in the year 2030.