Press Release No. 12/22 – BGE applies for temporary closure of district road

The Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) is requesting the temporary closure of the district road K 513 between Remlingen and Groß Vahlberg for the retrieval of radioactive waste from the Asse mine. Public transport between Remlingen and Groß Vahlberg would then need to be diverted via district roads K 20 and K 21, passing through Klein Vahlberg. Based on the current plans, the road would need to be closed at the end of 2027 or the start of 2028. The matter has already been addressed as part of the ongoing regional planning procedure. Now, the BGE has completed the application documents with more-detailed information. 

The radioactive waste from the Asse II mine is to be brought to the surface via the new Asse 5 shaft, which is to be built to the east of the site. The waste is then to be inspected and packaged in a manner suitable for final disposal at a waste treatment plant to the north of the existing Asse II mine. According to the BGE’s plans, the waste is to be placed in interim storage at this site until it can be transported to a final repository. 

Why is it necessary to close the district road?

The district road K 513 would cross the future site of the Asse II mine, which must be secured in accordance with the guideline on the protection against disruptive action or interference by third parties during the handling and transport of other radioactive materials (SEWD guideline). A situation in which the site is crossed by a road is not compatible with these requirements. The possibility of crossing the site via bridges or a tunnel has been examined, but these do not represent realistic alternatives. Such measures would reduce the level of safety, be accompanied by greater interventions in the special area of conservation (SAC) and take longer, therefore running contrary to the requirement for retrieval without delay. “Closing the district road for the duration of retrieval is therefore objectively necessary,” says Dr Thomas Lautsch, Technical Managing Director of the BGE. The BGE will make an application for the road closure to the District of Wolfenbüttel, which is the competent authority. 

District road K 513 must be improved for retrieval 

An increased volume of traffic is to be expected due to the necessary expansion of the site of the Asse II mine and in the event of an influx of solution that is no longer technically controllable. As it is currently constructed, the district road is not suitable for traffic flows on this scale. In order to accommodate the increased traffic loads, it is necessary to widen the K 513 and to increase its load-bearing capacity for traffic from Remlingen to the Asse II mine. A cycle lane will also be added. The total length of the necessary improvement works comes to around 1.6 kilometres. “These works are a necessary prerequisite for carrying out retrieval,” says Stefan Studt, Chair of the Management Board of the BGE.
If possible, the improvement works are to take place outside of the SAC, although small-scale interventions inside the SAC cannot be ruled out. The BGE will make any necessary adjustments to the required environmental impact assessment. A detailed description of the likely impact on the protected assets affected will be presented in a supplementary document.

With plans for the retrieval of radioactive waste from the Asse II mine being steadily firmed up, the BGE is now including the document relating to the application conference as part of the regional planning procedure. The supplementary document was submitted to the relevant Office for Regional Development (ArL-BS) in mid-November, at which point the BGE published the document on its website.

Background

The retrieval of radioactive waste from the Asse II mine is a matter with regional significance. On 11 July 2022, the application conference took place as part of the regional planning procedure. Participants in the conference were invited by the Office for Regional Development (ArL-BS), which is the planning authority responsible. The BGE reported on the conference in a press release on 15 July 2022.

About the BGE

The BGE is a federally owned company within the portfolio of the Federal Environment Ministry. On 25 April 2017, the BGE assumed responsibility from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection as the operator of the Asse II mine and the Konrad and Morsleben repositories. Its other tasks include searching for a repository site for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste produced in Germany on the basis of the Repository Site Selection Act, which entered into force in May 2017. The managing directors are Stefan Studt (Chair), Steffen Kanitz (Deputy Chair) and Dr Thomas Lautsch (Technical Managing Director).