Morsleben repository

At the start of the 1970s, the emplacement of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste began in the Bartensleben pit, initially on a trial basis. This waste arose above all from the use of nuclear power plants in the former GDR. High-level radioactive waste was not brought to Bartensleben and was instead transported back to the former Soviet Union.

It was not until 1986 that a licence was granted for indefinite, permanent operation as a repository. To this day, this licence forms the basis for operating the facility, which is being kept open until decommissioning. Following reunification, the Federal Republic of Germany used the facility as a pan-German repository from 1994 to 1998, emplacing further low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste. This practice was the subject of a successful legal challenge by the environmental organisation BUND. The former operator, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), subsequently discontinued emplacement before the legal disputes came to an end

The decommissioning concept includes three key measures: the construction of sealing structures underground, the extensive backfilling of the mine with salt concrete, and the sealing of the Marie and Bartensleben pits. The decommissioned repository must safely contain the radioactive waste on a permanent basis and should be maintenance-free. As it is still impossible to rule out the inflow of water (saline solution) at a later point in time, the miners are testing special sealing structures underground. These structures are intended to separate the radioactive waste from the rest of the pit in the future and therefore also to isolate it from the environment in this event.

Following completion of the decommissioning work, the nuclear waste will be contained at depth by concrete and salt. When this aim will be achieved depends on the licence that is yet to be issued. If the licence is granted, the decommissioning process itself will take approximately 15 to 20 years