Germany’s nuclear waste becomes an election issue
DOI: 10.1063/PT.4.1286
Politics in Germany went nuclear last week as Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel , a member of the center-left Social Democrats (SDP) which is trailing badly in the upcoming national election, published evidence showing that the former government doctored a report on the suitability of a proposed nuclear waste storage site in Gorleben in Lower Saxony . Gabriel called the revelation a “downright scandal.”
The evidence consists of a telex message from officials in chancellor Helmut Kohl’s government, which was run by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
The uproar is becoming an election issue as the former environment minister under Kohl is current Chancellor Angela Merkel , who is running for a second term.
Nine years ago the German government formulated plans to abandon nuclear power by 2022 as part of a governing coalition pact between the green party and SDP.
Merkel however is planning toauthorize Germany’s existing nuclear plants to have their lifespan extended and build new plants , if she can form a government with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) after the election.
Merkel’s case hasn’t been helped by safety accident revelations at nuclear power plants and leaks at storage facilities during the summer. However, like most countries with nuclear power the most controversial issue is the nuclear waste.
According to Die Spiegel :
Gabriel told said politicians tried to cover up warnings that radioactive material could seep into groundwater, an issue that was played down in the final report. Opponents of nuclear energy have long alleged that Gorleben was chosen as a long-term storage site for political reasons before its safety had been properly determined and that alternative locations were not given proper consideration.
In reponse, Merkel has pledged to review all Gorleben files going back to the 1980s
Wolfram König, the president of Germany’s Federal Office for Radiation Protection—which runs the test facility at Gorleben— stepped into the controversy by speaking out against the site’s suitability as a permanent waste depository to the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
“The feeling of confidence that there was an unbiased procedure (to choose a location for long-term storage) has now been destroyed,” said König, who called for a new “transparent and fair” process to choose a permanent storage location.
Paul Guinnessy
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Paul Guinnessy, pguinnes@aip.org
