Bavaria
Court allows nuclear waste to continue to be stored in Gundremmingen
Nuclear waste is stored in this hall on the site of the former Gundremmingen nuclear power plant. photo
© Stefan Puchner/dpa
Nuclear waste is to be stored at former German nuclear power plants until at least 2046. The highest Bavarian administrative judges do not see any security problems.
The approval of the interim nuclear waste storage facility in Bavaria Gundremmingen will not be abolished. The Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH) in Munich has once again dismissed a corresponding lawsuit. The judges had to decide on the lawsuits brought by property owners in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant.
The approval for the storage facility for spent fuel elements, which was granted more than 20 years ago, remains in force, the VGH announced. The nuclear storage facility is currently approved until 2046.
Residents see their safety at risk
The VGH thus confirmed an earlier decision. Lawsuits against the camp in Gundremmingen, Swabia, and the two other interim storage facilities in Bavaria had already been dismissed in 2006 when storage began. The plaintiffs in the current proceedings still felt their safety was at risk. They criticized the fact that the risks of a plane crashing into the camp and bombardment by terrorists had not been sufficiently examined.
However, the VGH said that the court was of the opinion that sufficient precautions had been taken for such cases. The storage of the nuclear fuel in the containment containers is sufficiently safe for the approved storage period of 40 years.