Switzerland’s plans to build nuclear waste site along German border raise health concerns
As Switzerland has planned to construct a nuclear waste storage facility near the German border, the communities in the region have expressed concern regarding its repercussions on their health. The Nordlich Laegern region was suggested as the site for the future underground nuclear waste deposit by Switzerland’s National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra). In a statement, Nagra claimed that the location’s geology made it the safest choice for the nuclear waste storage facility. It further stated that the general license application would be prepared and submitted to the federal government within the next two years.
“On Monday, September 12, the detailed information will be provided at a press conference together with the federal, cantonal and regional authorities,” Nagra said in the statement. According to reports, radioactive waste from the five nuclear power reactors in Switzerland as well as from industrial and medical establishments would be dumped several hundred meters underground if the Swiss government gave its approval.
“The required confinement time is around 200,000 years for high-level waste and around 30,000 years for low-level and intermediate-level waste,” Nagra claimed. Meanwhile, people residing in Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg region are skeptical of the assurances from Switzerland and worry that they would be left without a source of clean drinking water.
Germany expresses concern over Switzerland’s plans
German lawmaker Christian Kühn also expressed his concern about Switzerland’s plans to construct the facility in the region. “The close proximity of the planned storage facility to the village of Hohentengen would pose a problem both during the construction phase and during the operation of the repository,” he told Deutsche Welle, as per RT News. Moreover, Nagra’s proposals have also been strongly condemned by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.
The clearance process for the project could take decades: Reports
It should be mentioned here that the proposals have also invited criticism from the opposition party in Switzerland as well. According to an activist group, Nagra has an obligation to explain to the public why it earlier termed the site unsuitable, and what propelled it to change its mind now. Meanwhile, German media claimed that the clearance process for the project could take decades. After Nagra submits a planning application by 2024, the German Parliament would examine it before putting the application for a referendum.
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