Following handover of operator responsibility to the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH (BGE), they will continue to run a series of events entitled “Subject: Asse”. Dr. Jörg Tietze, Manager of the Asse project, gave an overview of the current status of retrieval planning and of the tasks for the coming months.
Tietze’s statements covered the following points:
- Mines and special measures
- Stabilisation, emergency procedures and precautions
- Interim storage and Shaft 5
- Infrastructure and mining technology
All lecture content can be found in the slides
published here.
In his lecture, Tietze indicated among other things that the underground construction materials facility could be brought into operation for the processing of contaminated solutions. In addition, the backfilling of roof gaps is almost 70 percent complete. In future, it is expected that progress will slow down as backfilling of the remaining roof gaps requires frequent operation of the construction materials facility.
In addition, Tietze mentioned the recent successful fact-finding mission, in which storage chamber 7 was first investigated with a camera in August of this year. “For the first time in decades, we have images from a storage chamber at the 750 metre level. The measurement data and the images so far show the expected level of damage,” says Tietze. The information found so far presents no opposition to retrieval.
Looking to 2018, Tietze presents the prospect of operational start-up of the facility for the acceptance, interim storage and delivery of solutions (AFL II). Furthermore, the concept plans for the retrieval of radioactive waste would be continued and first results expected. “The concept plans for the retrieval of radioactive waste from the 725 metre level should be completed by the middle of 2018. The completion of concept planning for the 511 metre and 750 metre levels is expected at the beginning of 2019,” says Tietze.
According to expectations, the interim storage of radioactive waste and the conditioning necessary for this aroused the greatest interest among those present. When undertaking operator responsibility, the BGE put the works in each project to the test and reassessed them as necessary. This process is not yet completed. Tietze promised to discuss the BGE plans with the Asse 2 Monitoring Group (A2B), the Working Group for Retrieval Options (AGO) and within the context of a public event.
Event series “Subject: Asse”
The event series “Re: Asse" is a forum for interested citizens to discuss the current works and issues with employees from the BGE. The next event is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.
