Lubmin: Dispose of nuclear waste safely-EWN is planning new mega projects!

Lubmin: Dispose of nuclear waste safely-EWN is planning new mega projects!

Lubmin, Deutschland - In Lubmin, an extensive dismantling of nuclear facilities is being worked on, which will take until the next century. The Ostsee-Zeitung reports that waste disposal works for Nuclear Anlagen GmbH (EWN) are significantly involved in this process. With around 900 employees, EWN is an important player in the dismantling of West German nuclear power plants and uses the know-how private operator to ensure safe disposal of radioactive waste.

The main task of EWN consists in the decontamination of the nuclear power plants in Greifswald and Rheinsberg. The dismantling of these systems has been running since the late 1990s, and a total of 600,000 tons of residues have been successfully decontaminated. An end to work is far from in sight, and the challenges are complex. The protection of people and the environment comes first, whereby all work is subject to nuclear law and subject to strict requirements of the federal and state authorities.

dismantling and new infrastructure

The EWN plans to build a new disassembly hall to efficiently edit large components such as reactor pressure vessels and steam generators. This "disassembly hall" will cost in the high double -digit million range and is scheduled to go into operation at the end of the year. There is also a concrete editing center (BBZ) to process concrete remains of the power plant. Another project is the new high -security camp called "Estral", which is built for highly radioactive waste and nuclear fuel and will have a height of 24 meters and a length of 130 meters.

The costs for the ESTAL warehouse are estimated in the low three-digit million range. EWN also has an approval for decontamination of contaminated material from third -party sources, but only in very small quantities. The dismantling work is not only time -consuming, but also cost -intensive. The operators of nuclear power plants are obliged to send the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) annually for decommissioning, dismantling and packaging of radioactive waste. This measure serves the transparency through the financing of future expenses and is part of the Transaction Act of January 27, 2017.

financing and responsibility

Responsibility for the costs of decommissioning and building background of nuclear facilities lies with the operators. These must provide over 24.1 billion euros for intermediate and final storage. This amount was transferred to the "Fund to finance nuclear disposal" in order to secure future disposal obligations. The Bafa checks the information from the operator and the annual report of the Federal Government is included in the German Bundestag.

ewn follows a strategy that aims to make the dismantling as efficiently as possible. Strong contamination and the safe disposal of radioactive waste must always be checked. According to ewn itself, almost three quarters of the masses can be re-evaluated on average, while the remaining rest must be treated as a radioactive waste.

The conditions and requirements for dismantling are therefore not only a challenge for the EWN, but also for the entire industry that is involved in Germany's safe energy strategy. The dismantling requires comprehensive specialist knowledge and supports a process that comes to the fore worries about health and the environment, while numerous jobs are preserved in the region at the same time.