The present status of nuclear waste management in the Federal Republic of Germany

The German Government and federal authorities have stipulated in a special regulation that new nuclear power stations will only be licensed if safe waste management("Entsorgung") is guaranteed. Hence the energyproducing utilities commenced the planning of a national fuel-cycle-centre ("Entsorgungszentrum") which includes installations for reprocessing and ultimate storage. Detailed studies have shown that from a safety engineering viewpoint, there is no objection to this waste management concept. However, for political reasons, its realization is not acceptable at present. Hence the Federal Government considered alternative solutions, e.g. the contruction of away-from-reactor, temporary storage facilities and a small scale reprocessing plant