WISE - NIRS Nuclear Monitor 617

What happened 25 years ago? We go back to news from our 1979 WISE Bulletin, comparing anti-nuclear news then and now.

Then
In issue 6 of WISE Bulletin we reported on a demonstration against plans for a reprocessing plant at Gorleben, Germany, which was broken up by the police: "On June 8, police in Gorleben, the proposed site for reprocessing and waste disposal, used chemical mace to break up an anti-nuclear bicycle demonstration. […] The bicycle demo, made up of 200 anti-nuclear pedallers, followed a sit-down which successfully blocked drilling rigs on their way to the site […] of the reprocessing plant". (WISE Bulletin 6, October 1979)

Now
In the 1960/1970s, German authorities opted for nuclear waste disposal in a salt mine and the realization of one national "nuclear back-end center", including reprocessing and deep geological waste disposal. Gorleben was designated as potential site in 1977, which resulted in strong opposition from local citizens and anti-nuclear groups nationwide culminating in a March 1977 rally attended by 100,000 participants. In 1979, the idea for a reprocessing plant was abandoned. (Discussions on Nuclear Waste, Laka Foundation, January 2000)

Two underground research laboratories in the salt dome were excavated in the 1990s. Facilities for the storage of low-/medium-level waste were built as well as a storage facility for spent fuel and high-level waste Castor storage containers.

In the initial plans it was expected that an underground repository would be ready to receive waste before 2000. But the Gorleben salt dome has a number of disadvantages that make it unsuitable for waste storage: gaps in covering clay formation and direct access of the salt to groundwater layers. In 2000, a research moratorium of 3-10 years was established in an agreement with the nuclear industry and remains in place today. In the meantime, the German government will reconsider other possible storage sites in the country and final storage is now not foreseen before the year 2030. (WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor, 13 February 2004)

Seven transports of Castor containers to Gorleben have taken place to date. The first Castor, with spent fuel from the Phillipsburg reactor, arrived in April 1995 and was 'escorted' by more than 2,500 demonstrators. In May 1996, a second transport arrived, this time containing high-level waste from the La Hague reprocessing plant and between 3,000 and 5,000 demonstrators attempted halt its path by blocking the roads. A combined high-level waste and spent fuel transport took place in March 1997 but no transports took place between 1998 and 2001 due to a scandal involving transport containers which appeared to be contaminated on the outside surface. After having dealt with this problem, in March 2001, a "six-pack" Castor arrived from La Hague, followed in November by a single transport of twelve Castors. Also in 2002 and 2003 transports were conducted in November, each time carrying 12 Castor containers. The next transport, number 8, will leave France on 6 November and will be 'escorted' by several demonstrations and direct actions. (WISE News Communique, 19 May 1995; 17 May 1996; 14 March 1997; 6 April 2001; WISE/NIRS Nuclear Monitor, 22 November 2002; www.castor.de)

WISE-Amsterdam/NIRS

ISSN: 1570-4629

Reproduction of this material is encouraged. Please give credit when reprinting.

Editorial team: Tinu Otoki (WISE Amsterdam), Michael Mariotte (NIRS). With contributions from CEIE/CEE Bankwatch Network, WISE Czech Republic, Mark Johnston, WISE Austria, WISE Sweden and Greenpeace Sweden.

The next issue (618) will be mailed out November 12, 2004.

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