Germany Begins Sealing Gorleben Nuclear Waste Repository

The controversial site, deemed unsuitable for long-term storage, will be filled with 400,000 tons of salt by 2031.

The Gorleben salt stock, once explored as a permanent nuclear waste repository, is being filled and decommissioned after decades of protests and controversy.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke called the closure a significant step toward rebuilding public trust in Germany's nuclear waste management process.
The site was excluded from the national search for a permanent repository in 2020 due to geological concerns, including contact with groundwater.
Germany continues its search for a scientifically suitable site to store 27,000 cubic meters of high-level radioactive waste safely for up to one million years, aiming for completion by 2050.
The decommissioning process at Gorleben, including filling shafts and dismantling surface facilities, is expected to conclude by 2031.