Gorleben transport cask storage facility

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View of the Gorleben transport cask storage facility for highly radioactive nuclear waste (storage hall on the left)

The Gorleben transport cask storage facility (TBL Gorleben, TBL-G, Castor-Lager) is an interim storage facility for spent fuel elements and highly radioactive waste (" glass canisters ") of German origin from reprocessing . It is located in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district about 2 km south of the village of Gorleben . The operator is the BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung . Previously, GNS Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service was the operator of the interim storage facility from 1990 until the transfer of its interim storage activities to the federal government on August 1, 2017. The same operator's Gorleben waste storage facility for low and medium-level radioactive waste and the Gorleben pilot conditioning plant are also located on the site . It is part of the Gorleben nuclear waste storage facility and the Gorleben salt dome is located right next door .

The different types of storage are derived from the level of activity of the radioactive waste . Depending on the activity, a distinction is made between low, medium and high level radioactive waste. The requirements and assessment of the suitability of storage are part of a social discussion.

history

Due to an initial permit, the Gorleben transport cask storage facility was completed in 1983 after a construction period of almost two years. This permit allowed the storage of 1,500 tons of spent fuel elements from German nuclear power plants . The first storages took place in 1995 after many years of legal proceedings. In June 1995 the permit was extended so that up to 3,800 tons could now be stored. Storage in glass canisters was also permitted. In 1996 the first HAW glass canisters from the reprocessing of German fuel elements in France were transported to the Castor storage facility. The approval of the warehouse is limited to December 31, 2034.

construction

The central building on the interim storage area is the 182 m long, 38 m wide and 20 m high warehouse in which the transport containers are stored upright. The containers are permanently connected to an electronic system to monitor their tightness. A bridge crane is used to transport the containers in the hall . The hall is built in such a way that the containers are cooled by natural air convection .

The hall itself consists of 0.5 m thick reinforced concrete walls and a concrete slab roof. In addition to the containers themselves, this building provides shielding in order to comply with the statutory radiation limit value for individuals outside the company premises of 1 mSv per calendar year.

According to the approval (status 2010), a maximum of 3800 tons of heavy metal with 2 × 10 20  Bq activity and 16 MW thermal output in the form of irradiated fuel elements from light water reactors or glass canisters (vitrified high-level radioactive waste from the reprocessing of German fuel elements) may be stored in containers on 420 storage spaces in the TBL Gorleben .

Content of the camp

As of December 31, 2002, there were 32 casks with spent fuel assemblies and glass canisters in the warehouse; at the end of 2004 there were 56 casks. With the transport in November 2010, the number increased to 102, of which 97 were with glass canisters. With the transport in November 2011, the number increased to 113 containers.

Transport
number 		Origin of the Castor containers Number of
containers 		Arrival at the
transport container warehouse 		Number of containers
in the transport container store
1 Philippsburg nuclear power plant 1 Apr 25, 1995
2 La Hague reprocessing plant 1 0May 8, 1996
3 Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant 3 05th Mar 1997
Gundremmingen nuclear power plant 1
La Hague reprocessing plant 2
4th La Hague reprocessing plant 6th 29 Mar 2001
5 La Hague reprocessing plant 6th Nov 14, 2001
6th La Hague reprocessing plant 12 Nov 14, 2002 32
7th La Hague reprocessing plant 12 Nov 12, 2003
8th La Hague reprocessing plant 12 0Nov 9, 2004 56
9 La Hague reprocessing plant 12 Nov 22, 2005
10 La Hague reprocessing plant 12 Nov 13, 2006
11 La Hague reprocessing plant 11 Nov 11, 2008
12 La Hague reprocessing plant 11 0Nov 9, 2010 102
13 La Hague reprocessing plant 11 Nov 28, 2011 113

From the British reprocessing plant Sellafield approx. 21 more containers with glass canisters of high-level radioactive waste (HAW) and another five with solidified medium-level radioactive waste (MAW) were to be emplaced. After the amendment of the Atomic Energy Act in connection with the Site Selection Act of July 23, 2013, the storage of these casks in the TBL Gorleben has been legally excluded. The containers are now to be distributed to interim storage facilities near the nuclear power plant.

Radiation Limits

The storage permit for the Gorleben transport cask storage facility provides for an intervention level of 0.270 mSv / year. The approval value is 0.300 mSv / year and must not be exceeded. This value has to be measured at the "most unfavorable starting point" on the warehouse fence. The so-called "independent measuring point" is responsible for the measurements. The Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) is the responsible independent measuring body for the transport cask storage facility in Gorleben. On August 26, 2011 it became known that, according to the radiation forecast for 2011, the permit value is expected to be exceeded. From November 30, 2010 to June 6, 2011, the NLWKN measured a neutron radiation of 0.141 mSv on the fence. This gives an annual value for the neutron radiation of 0.273 mSv. After subtracting the neutron background of 0.05 mSv / year and adding the net gamma value from 2010 (0.120 mSv) or the net gamma prognosis from 2011 (0.100 mSv), the annual value is 0.340 mSv / year or 0.320 mSv / year . The intervention reference value and the approval value have thus been clearly exceeded. The secondary provision A20 of the storage permit requires an estimate of the annual dose at the starting point P1 on the basis of the real dose measured values ​​at P1 and the dose rate of the new containers to be stored before each storage.

The NLWKN operates two measuring houses in the white moor and in the village of Gorleben as reference measuring points for measuring the natural background radiation from neutron and gamma radiation.

Legal situation

The storage permit for the TBL Gorleben includes the following ancillary provisions:

  • A 1. Intended changes to plant components and facilities, measures in the transport cask store and the specifications in the technical acceptance conditions and the associated implementation provisions must be reported to the nuclear supervisory authority in accordance with the letter from the Lower Saxony Ministry of the Environment dated April 19, 1994. This decides on how to proceed.
  • MA 8. With regard to the maximum dose applied for by BLG at the most unfavorable starting point at the fence of the company premises of 0.30 mSv per year, storage operations must be interrupted as soon as a dose of 0.27 mSv per year is measured there until the nuclear regulatory authority has given its approval to the planned measures to maintain the value of 0.30 mSv per year.
  • A 20. The storage of the transport and storage casks must be carried out in accordance with the storage plan specified in the licensing documents, which must be updated and submitted to the nuclear regulatory authority at six-monthly intervals. For the containers intended for storage, compliance with the boundary conditions for the thermal output of the warehouse must be demonstrated and the radiation exposure of the staff and the annual dose at the most unfavorable starting point on the fence of the company premises must be estimated.

On January 29, 2010, the 4th change permit for the storage permit was issued, which allows the storage of HAW glass canisters from AREVA NC in containers of the new type CASTOR HAW28M. When loaded with 28 molds, the castor containers can achieve a maximum heat output of 56 kW. In addition, the 4th modification permit includes a modified list of the previously approved transport and storage containers of the French type TN85. The allocation plan in the Castor warehouse is part of the storage permit.

The spent fuel assemblies and glass canisters are mainly in large casks from the Castor family, which are stored upright in the hall described above. When it is stored, the nuclear waste has a core temperature of around 400 degrees Celsius. Only when the waste has cooled down to around 200 degrees after a period of 20 to 30 years due to the decreasing activity would it be possible to store it in a salt dome.

Possible effects

On September 5, 2011, the Lower Saxony State Health Office (NLGA) confirmed calculations by the Helmholtz Center in Munich , which had shown a significant shift in the ratio of boy births to girl births in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district. According to calculations by the NLGA, the effect occurs within a radius of 40 km in Lower Saxony and neighboring countries to the east of the transport container storage facility. The ratio of boy births to girl births in Lower Saxony was 102: 100 from 1971 to 1995 (Y: M) and 109: 100 from 1996 to 2007 (Y: M). In the neighboring countries to the east, the ratio of boy births to girl births was 101: 100 from 1991 to 1995 (Y: M) and 109: 100 from 1996 to 2007 (Y: M). A direct connection between gender distribution and TBL has not yet been proven. The NLGA states that although there is a changed secondary gender ratio around the TBL Gorleben with high statistical certainty, a discussion about possible causes is purely speculative. There is no such effect across Germany. Rather, there has been an opposing, slightly downward trend in the gender ratio in Europe and especially in Germany since 1995.

criticism

Critics express concerns about the safety of the facility and in particular point out the lack of protection against airplane crashes . In contrast, the operators take the position that the waste is adequately protected in the containers (see criticism of the safety of the Castor containers ).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ New interim storage company started in Essen. BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH, accessed on April 17, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ History - GNS. Retrieved April 17, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Andreas Maier: The legend of the salt dome . In: The time . No. 48 , 2003 ( zeit.de ).
  4. ↑ Background to the TBL Gorleben . ( Memento from September 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) NDR Regional, October 28, 2010; Retrieved November 29, 2011
  5. ↑ Lower Saxony Ministry for Environment and Climate Protection ( Memento of October 24, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Federal Office for Radiation Protection: 4th change permit TBL Gorleben. (PDF; 115 kB) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 14, 2016 ; Retrieved September 9, 2011 . 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfs.de
  7. ↑ Info. ( Memento of the original from May 26, 2016 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. Homepage of the Society for Nuclear Service mbH; Retrieved November 28, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gns.de
  8. ↑ a b The previous transports . Spiegel Online , November 9, 2001
  9. ↑ 1996: First charge from La Hague . Spiegel.TV film report
  10. ↑ Everything about the Castor . Spiegel Online , March 29, 2001
  11. ↑ Nuclear waste arrived in Gorleben . Spiegel Online , November 14, 2001
  12. ↑ Nuclear waste at the destination . Spiegel Online , November 14, 2002
  13. ^ Castor transport arrived in Gorleben . Spiegel Online , November 12, 2003
  14. ↑ Castor transport reaches Gorleben . Spiegel Online , November 9, 2004
  15. ↑ Castor transport reaches Gorleben . Spiegel Online , November 22, 2005
  16. ↑ Police clear the way for Castor . Spiegel Online , November 13, 2006
  17. ↑ Castor transport reaches repository after violent protests . Spiegel Online , November 11, 2008
  18. ↑ The Castor reaches its destination . Spiegel Online , November 9, 2010
  19. ↑ Castor transport reaches Gorleben . Spiegel Online , November 28, 2011
  20. ↑ Status report on the use of nuclear energy in the Federal Republic of Germany 2016. (PDF) Federal Office for Nuclear Waste Disposal Safety, Salzgitter, August 2017, accessed on July 14, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Loose-leaf collection FS-78-15-AKU ( Memento of the original from July 15, 2015 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. (PDF online; 90 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / osiris22.pi-consult.de
  22. ↑ The nuclear waste interim storage facility in Gorleben . ( Memento from September 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) NDR.de
  23. ↑ Changes in the secondary gender ratio in the vicinity of the Gorleben transport cask storage facility from 1995 Lower Saxony State Health Office (NLGA)
  24. ↑ Lower Saxony State Health Office (NLGA): Secondary gender ratio in the vicinity of the TBL Gorleben transport container warehouse - Expert discussion on March 12, 2012 (PDF; 12.2 MB)
  25. ↑ Mystery of "lost girls" - More boys are born near nuclear power plants. It is unclear whether radioactive radiation is to blame . In: Hamburger Abendblatt , April 9, 2014
  26. ↑ The riddle of the “lost girls” - In the vicinity of nuclear power plants, research reactors and repositories, more boys than girls are born. It is unclear whether this is related to increased radiation levels or other reasons . Welt Online , April 8, 2014

Coordinates: 53 ° 2 ′ 1 ″  N , 11 ° 20 ′ 27 ″  E