National cooperative for the storage of radioactive waste
The National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (short Nagra or nagra ), based in Wettingen is for the safe disposal of the Switzerland accumulating radioactive waste responsible and the related research and project work.
activity
According to the Swiss Nuclear Energy Act and the accompanying ordinances, those who generate radioactive waste are responsible for their disposal. The law prescribes the permanent and safe disposal of waste in deep geological repositories in Switzerland. In order to fulfill this task, the Swiss nuclear power plant operators and the federal government, which is responsible for waste from medicine, industry and research, founded the National Cooperative for the Storage of Radioactive Waste in 1972. Nagra is financed by its members of the cooperative (NPP operators, federal government and Zwilag ). Due to the composition of its owners, Nagra is regarded by the nuclear power opposition as being friendly to nuclear energy. Payments by Nagra to lobby organizations such as Forum Vera (responsible for the management of radioactive waste) and to organizations in the energy industry also generate criticism in this regard. In accordance with its code of conduct, Nagra should adopt a neutral stance towards the use of nuclear energy. In 1973 and in the following years, Nagra first examined rock layers in the Alpine region , for example near Bex and Airolo , but all of them proved to be unsuitable.
An important basis for Nagra's work is the subsequent “disposal certificate” it provides. The first step towards this was the “Project Guarantee” in the 1980s. It included exploratory boreholes in crystalline rock at geographically different locations in northern Switzerland as well as seismic measurements. There were also investigations on the Oberbauenstock in central Switzerland. The Federal Council recognized the corresponding research results in 1988 as evidence of the disposal of low and medium level radioactive waste. With regard to the disposal of high-level radioactive waste, Nagra had to expand its investigations. Therefore, from the late 1980s onwards, she explored various sedimentary rocks , including the Opalinus Clay . She rated this as a very suitable host rock, primarily due to its very low water permeability and the property of being capable of swelling, which means that cracks are sealed again. In 2006 the “Opalinus Clay Project” led to the approval of the disposal certificate for high-level waste by the Federal Council.
Nagra has not yet built deep geological repositories. Its intention was to build a storage facility for low- and intermediate-level waste on the Wellenberg in the canton of Nidwalden , but suffered a defeat in the canton due to negative referendums (1995 52% no to a repository, 2002 57% no to the construction of an exploratory tunnel). In mid-2010, the Federal Commission for Nuclear Safety (KNS), the Commission for Nuclear Waste Management (KNE) and, as in early 2010, the Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), which also found locations at the southern foot of the Jura problematic, came to the conclusion that the Wellenberg «clearly less suitable »than other areas which, in contrast to the wave crest, have the host rock Opalinus Clay.
In Switzerland, the Commission “Disposal Concepts for Radioactive Waste” (EKRA) appointed by Federal Councilor Leuenberger dealt with possible disposal solutions. In its final report in 2000, it came to the conclusion that only deep geological repositories offer unrestricted protection for people and the environment. The search for storage locations is carried out in Switzerland as part of the “Sectoral Plan for Deep Geological Repositories” and has been running since 2008. The Sectoral Plan concept also provides for radioactive waste to be retrieved temporarily from a deep repository. The Sectoral Plan for Deep Geological Repositories is a detailed selection process under the direction of the federal authorities. In this context, Nagra provides scientific data and site suggestions. The ENSI rates this as the supervisory authority. The Federal Council makes the decisions.
In 2008, Nagra proposed six siting areas for a deep geological repository to the federal authorities: for low- and intermediate-level waste (SMA) these are Südranden (in the canton of Schaffhausen ), Zurich Northeast (Zurich and Thurgau , also known as " Zürcher Weinland "), Nördlich Lägern ( Zurich and Aargau), Jura Ost (Aargau, " Bözberg "), Jura-Südfuss (Solothurn and Aargau) and Wellenberg (Nidwalden and Obwalden). Zurich Northeast (Weinland), Nördlich Lägern and Jura Ost (Aargau, Bözberg) are also suitable for a deep geological repository for highly active waste (HAA). The Zürcher Weinland (Zurich Northeast) and the Wellenberg have already been investigated particularly intensively by means of boreholes in connection with the disposal certificate and the "Wellenberg" project.
In 2011 the Federal Council decided to include all six proposed siting areas in the second stage of the sectoral plan process. The current task is to specify the storage projects in the possible siting areas and to compare the geological locations with one another in terms of safety.
Based on the safety-related comparison of the locations, Nagra will announce in 2022 for which location or locations it wants to prepare a general license application. It will then prepare this within about two years and will probably submit it in 2024. After a comprehensive review of the documents (primarily by ENSI ) and a public hearing, the Federal Council will submit its decision to the Federal Parliament for approval around 2029. This decision is subject to an optional referendum , but only at the federal level.
A preliminary decision was made in January 2015: Nagra favors the two locations Zürcher Weinland and Bözberg (Aargau), both with Opalinus Clay host rock. Because Nagra is the specialist body on the issue, the decision is a very important setting of the course.
Web links
swell
- Nagra: 25 years of Nagra , 1997
- Nagra Info , No. 18, 2005
- Sectoral plan for deep geological repositories , 2008
- SFOE Newsletter Deep Storage , No. 12, 2014
- Nagra Info , No. 42, 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nagra money for nuclear power lobby Article in the Sunday newspaper of September 7, 2014, as a PDF file at klar-schweiz.com
- ↑ Nagra Code of Conduct , Nagra website , 23 January 2014
- ↑ Nagra: 25 Years of Nagra , 1997, p. 15ff.
- ↑ ENSI : ENSI Magazine , 2010.1
- ^ " Trample on democracy" - Against new Nagra plans in Nidwalden , NZZ , November 27, 2008
- ↑ The end of Wellenberg - A Swiss nuclear repository is a long way off: The voters of the canton of Nidwalden have spoken out against an exploratory tunnel in Wellenberg , swissinfo.ch , September 22, 2002
- ↑ Locations for nuclear waste storage confirmed - Wellenberg described as "significantly less suitable" - open questions at the building technology , NZZ , February 27, 2010
- ↑ Another expert opinion against the Wellenberg - Commission for Nuclear Safety focuses on Opalinus Clay , NZZ , May 6, 2010
- ↑ Expert group on disposal concepts for radioactive waste publishes final report , BFE press release , February 7, 2000
- ↑ Disposal concepts for radioactive waste, final report (2000)
- ↑ Sectoral plan for deep geological repositories , ENSI , August 7, 2014
- ↑ sectoral plan for deep geological repositories ( Memento of 16 September 2014 Internet Archive ) , BFE , August 7, 2014
- ↑ Site search for deep geological repositories begins ( memento of the original from November 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , SFOE , March 2, 2008
- ↑ Technical Forum Security discusses retrievability from deep repositories ( memento of the original from November 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , News from ENSI , September 13, 2013
- ↑ a b Nagra-info No. 42 , Nagra, July 2014
- ↑ Proposals for geologically suitable siting regions for the storage of radioactive waste are available ( memento of the original from November 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , SFOE , November 6, 2008
- ↑ Searching for a site for deep geological repositories: Federal Council defines six areas and starts stage 2 ( memento of the original from November 28, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , SFOE , December 1, 2011
- ↑ Annual Report 2013 , Nagra, June 26, 2014
- ↑ Newsletter deep repository , SFOE , April 2014
- ↑ Aargau radio report on the decision ( memento of the original from February 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
