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Gorleben nuclear storage site developed illegally

Gorleben nuclear storage site developed illegally  The Local 29 May 09lThe salt dome at the Gorleben nuclear waste depot was developed illegally to be permanent storage facility, according to an internal assessment by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) attained by daily Frankfurter Rundschau on Thursday. Since work began on the underground facility in the 1980s, only permission for “exploration” has been granted. But even without an official authorisation, the paper said that costs for assessing the salt dome for its suitability had been high because “the construction of the permanent storage depot was begun parallel to the investigation.”

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection did not want to confirm the existence of the document, but did admit that costs had been higher than necessary.

Some €1.5 billion has been invested in the site.

Work at Gorleben has been suspended since 2000, when the government decided to wait until 2010 to resume the controversial project.

The appearance of the documents has confirmed the doubts of nuclear energy opponents, who believed that Gorleben had been earmarked as a permanent storage depot before the safety of the salt dome had been adequately investigated.

Nuclear energy is deeply unpopular in Germany

Gorleben nuclear storage site developed illegally – The Local

May 29, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive, uranium