Leipzig unsuitable for nuclear waste repository

Saxony's state capital fails to meet geological requirements

Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal (BASE) publishes evaluation result

Leipzig. It is now official: Leipzig is not suitable as a location for a nuclear waste repository. This is the result of the evaluation by the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal (BASE), which was published on Monday. According to BASE, the geological conditions at the Morsleben site near Leipzig do not meet the necessary safety requirements. This means that radioactive waste cannot be stored there permanently.

The decision is a setback for the federal government, which had identified Morsleben as a potential site for a nuclear waste repository. The federal government is now obliged to find a new location. However, this will take several years, as the search for a suitable site is a complex and time-consuming process.

The decision by BASE is based on a comprehensive evaluation of the geological conditions at the Morsleben site. According to BASE, the rock formations at the site are not sufficiently stable to withstand the pressure of the radioactive waste over a period of several hundred thousand years. In addition, there is a risk of groundwater contamination.

The decision by BASE has been welcomed by environmentalists. They have long warned of the risks associated with storing radioactive waste at the Morsleben site. The environmentalists are now demanding that the federal government abandon its plans to build a nuclear waste repository in Morsleben.

The federal government has not yet commented on the decision by BASE. It is unclear whether the government will continue to search for a nuclear waste repository in Morsleben or whether it will look for a new site.