Background information

In the Federal Republic of Germany, large quantities of radioactive waste with negligible heat generation arise particularly from the operation and dismantling of nuclear power plants as well as from research institutions, medical facilities and technical industries. The Konrad repository, a former iron-ore mine in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, is intended to store this waste.

Built in the 1960s, the mine is being converted into a repository in accordance with the decision of the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) of 26 March 2007 in relation to the “incontestability of the planning approval of 22 May 2002 for the construction and operation of the Konrad mine”. In accordance with the planning approval, the emplacement volume has been set at a maximum of 303,000 cubic metres with respect to waste container volume.