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German nuclear waste dump plans sparks row

Press TV – March 15, 2010

Germany’s environment ministry has come under fire for green-lighting further exploration of a disused salt mine in northern Germany as a potential final storage site for nuclear waste.

Germany’s Green party and environmental leaders are protesting the decision, which comes after a 10-year moratorium in the exploration plans for the controversial Gorleben nuclear waste dump.

Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen confirmed on Monday that talks on turning the Gorleben salt mine into a permanent nuclear waste dump are set to resume.

Roettgen added that he did not expect the storage facility to reopen before 2030, even if Gorleben analysis and tests are positive.

Gorleben has been used as temporary repository for nuclear waste since 1983, and led to a huge controversy after revelations that the German government under Chancellor Helmut Kohl had suppressed scientific evidence showing the site was not suitable for the job.

While extremely unpopular with the public, Germany relies on nuclear power to cover a quarter of its energy consumption.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new ruling coalition is planning to extend the lives of the country’s 17 nuclear plants, arguing that nuclear power could not be replaced until cost-efficient renewable power is more widely used.

This is while a previous center-left government in 2002 approved a decision to shut down the country’s aging reactors by the mid-2020s.

March 15, 2010 - Posted by | Nuclear Power

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