No solutions for nuclear waste – no new nuclear power plants!

Greenpeace Switzerland, November 30, 2025

To date, there is no long-term safe solution for the storage of nuclear waste anywhere in the world. This is shown in a new study commissioned by Greenpeace Switzerland. It makes clear that the option planned in Switzerland—burying the nuclear waste in a clay layer north of the cantons of Zurich and Aargau—is fraught with numerous uncertainties.

Here are three reasons why Switzerland must phase out nuclear power as quickly as possible and reduce the production of highly radioactive waste.

1. Burying nuclear waste is not a solution

The Greenpeace study summarizes the findings of over 800 scientific papers on the deep geological disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste from the last 15 years. It reveals several new problems that are still poorly understood even by experts. These include phenomena such as the mutual weakening of various safety barriers, as well as processes (such as heat and radiation exposure, colloids, cracks, etc.) that could accelerate the spread of radioactive materials in the soil and groundwater.

Overall, it is clear that none of the “solutions” discussed so far for the deep geological disposal of these highly radioactive materials – neither in clay nor in granite formations – can guarantee that the radioactivity will remain safely contained in the long term. This finding is particularly worrying given that the Federal Council is considering a return to nuclear energy.

2. Swiss deep geological repository does not meet safety requirements

The report questions the safety of the planned deep geological repository. The National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) intends to store the highly radioactive waste in thick-walled steel containers, which are to be embedded in an Opalinus Clay layer at a depth of approximately 900 meters. The repository is designed to contain the radioactivity for one million years.

However, the study shows that certain processes could undermine the safety of the repository after only 1,000 or 2,000 years. Given these uncertainties, the optimism of the project’s proponents seems disconcerting.

The Federal Council also seems keen to present the public with a final plan as quickly as possible – for political and financial reasons. In other words, the problem should be resolved as quickly as possible in order to revive nuclear energy in Switzerland.

This is dangerous: We must not make any hasty decisions.

3. The safest way: No new waste – therefore no nuclear power

The reality is that Switzerland currently lacks a safe solution for the long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste. Continuing to pursue the planned deep geological repository in the Northern Lägern region, despite so many doubts, is not a good idea.

Furthermore, there is no disposal strategy whatsoever for a potential new reactor – a point that neither the Federal Council nor the proponents of nuclear energy ever openly address.

Given this situation, we must stop the production of highly radioactive waste as quickly as possible and prevent the problem from worsening through new nuclear power plants. Therefore, please sign our petition: https://www.greenpeace.ch/de/handeln/atomkraft-nie-wieder/