Press Release

No. 07/17 - BGE begins collection of geological data. First steps in site selection process

4 August 2017 Today, the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH (BGE) has written to the geological services of the states, the mountain and water authorities and asked for the available geodata. On 25 April 2017, project management of the site selection procedure was transferred by law to the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH. The law intends that the available data from the geological services and the mountain and water authorities are assessed. Based on the “carte blanche” approach, the BGE initially requires data for the entire federal territory to which it can apply the exclusion criteria set out in the law. This includes tectonic, mining and hydrogeological data. For the subsequent application of minimum requirements for a possible site, the data on the incidence of potential bedrock information (location, thickness, extent) in Germany must also form a basis and these are requested in a next step. Geological search spaces are derived from this, to which geoscientific consideration criteria are applied. The areas established in this way are listed in a sub-territory report. Also listed are those areas for which no justified exception is possible because of an insufficient data basis. The first milestone in the site selection procedure is then an interim report about the sub-territories that are expected to offer suitable geological prerequisites for the safe final storage of radioactive waste. The BGE is a federal government company in the Federal Environment Ministry business area. On 25 April 2017, the BGE took over responsibility from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection as operator of the Asse II shaft mine and the Konrad and Morsleben final repositories. Its other responsibilities include the search for a final repository particularly for heat-generating radioactive waste. Managing Directors are Ursula Heinen-Esser (Chair), Dr. Ewold Seeba (Deputy Chair) and Prof. Dr. Hans-Albert Lennartz (Commercial Managing Director).

Contact

Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH
Press Office
Willy-Brandt-Str. 5
38226 Salzgitter Phone: +49 30 18333-1868
Mail: presse(at)bge.de

Links to the topic

• Overview of all reports and press releases from the BGE