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2h ago

Final Cooling Tower at Germany’s Biblis Nuclear Plant Brought Down in Controlled Collapse

RWE calls the demolition a key milestone in Germany’s nuclear phase-out.

Der vierte Kühlturm des seit Jahren stillgelegten Atomkraftwerks Biblis in Hessen ist wie geplant kontrolliert eingestürzt. Ein ferngesteuerter Bagger destabilisierte die Betonstruktur an dem Turm so lange, bis er in sich zusammenfiel.
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Overview

  • The 80-meter structure fell at 12:43 after a remote-controlled excavator weakened the concrete and supports were removed.
  • RWE’s decommissioning lead Ralf Stüwe said the completed tower removals mark a visible step in implementing the national exit from nuclear power.
  • Conservation groups opposed the move due to a colony of protected house martins, and RWE says it had installed eight swallow houses with independent monitoring over five years.
  • According to RWE, the local district initially ordered a halt to the work, but the tower’s stability had already been compromised once demolition preparations began earlier in the week.
  • The plant has been in dismantling since 2017 under a roughly 15-year plan, with about one million tonnes of rubble expected and roughly 7,500 tonnes of conventional debris per tower slated for recycling.