Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Air traffic reportedly halted in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.
Israeli media: Sirens sound in al-Quds, surrounding areas.
Al-Qassam Brigades: Our fighters spotted enemy helicopters landing to evacuate their troops and swiftly carried out a coordinated operation against the occupying forces entrenched in a house in al-Qarara
Al-Qassam Brigades: We detonated a tunnel entrance where several enemy soldiers had gathered in the town of al-Qarara and engaged them with light weapons
Al-Qassam Brigades: We struck an enemy force, causing casualties and injuries, by detonating a heavy explosive device in a house in the town of al-Qarara, south of the Gaza Strip
Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, Commander of Iran’s Army Ground Forces, warned: Any act of aggression against Iran will result in the destruction of its origin and perpetrators
Speaking at a ceremony honoring war veterans, Salami declared: We will stand resolutely against the enemy
IRGC Commander, Major General Hossein Salami: We do not accept humiliation, nor do we believe in submission
Government Media Office in Gaza: So far, 7 bodies have been recovered, while two remain under the rubble, in a scene that epitomizes genocide.
Government Media Office in Gaza: 9 children from one family were killed in an Israeli massacre against the "Al-Najjar" family in Khan Yunis.

Switzerland seeks to bury radioactive waste

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 9 Apr 2022 10:22
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

Switzerland hopes to join an elite club of countries closing in on deep geological storage.

  • x
  • Switzerland will have to bury a projected 83,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste
    Switzerland will have to bury a projected 83,000 cubic meters of radioactive wasteز

The Mont Terri international laboratory in Switzerland was built to study the effects of burying radioactive waste in clay that sits 300 meters (985 feet) below the surface near Saint-Ursanne in the northwestern Jura region.

The underground laboratory stretches across 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) of tunnels. Niches along the way, each around five meters high, are filled with various storage simulations, containing small quantities of radioactive material monitored by thousands of sensors.

More than 170 experiments have been carried out to simulate the different phases of the process -- positioning the waste, sealing off the tunnels, surveillance -- and to reproduce every imaginable physical and chemical effect.

According to experts, it takes 200,000 years for the radioactivity in the most toxic waste to return to natural levels.

Geologist Christophe Nussbaum, who heads the laboratory, explained that researchers wanted to determine what the possible effects could be "on storage that needs to last for nearly one million years."

That "is the duration that we need to ensure safe confinement," he noted, adding that so far, "the results are positive."

Final decision in 2029

Three prospective sites in the northeast, near the German border, have been identified to receive such radioactive waste. 

Switzerland's nuclear plant operators are expected to choose their preferred option in September.

The Swiss government is not due to make the final decision until 2029, but that is unlikely to be the last word as the issue would probably go to a referendum.

Switzerland moving too fast

Related News

China, Switzerland mark 75 years with push to expand trade ties

China’s exports to US fall 17.6% March to April amid trade war

Despite the drawn-out process, environmental campaigners Greenpeace say Switzerland is moving too fast.

"There are a myriad of technical questions that have not been resolved," Florian Kasser, in charge of nuclear issues for the environmental activist group, told AFP.

He said it remains to be seen if the systems in place can "guarantee there will be no radioactive leakage in 100, 1,000 or 100,000 years."

Kasser emphasized that Switzerland also needed to consider how it will signal the sites' location to ensure they are not forgotten, and that people many centuries from now remain aware of the dangers.

More than half a century of pumping out radioactive waste

Swiss nuclear power plants have been pumping out radioactive waste for more than half a century.

Until now, it has been handled by the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, or NAGRA, founded in 1972 by the plant operators in conjunction with the state.

For now, the waste is being stored in an "intermediary depot" in Wurenlingen, some 15 kilometers from the German border.

83,000 cubic meters to be buried

Switzerland hopes to join an elite club of countries closing in on deep geological storage.

So far, only Finland has built a site, in granite, and Sweden gave the green light in January to build its own site for burying spent nuclear fuel in granite. 

Switzerland will have to bury a projected 83,000 cubic meters of radioactive waste, including some high activity waste.

This volume corresponds to a 60-year operating life of the Beznau, Gosgen, and Leibstadt nuclear power plants, and the 47 years that Muhleberg was in operation before closing in 2019.

"Project of the century"

Filling in the underground nuclear waste tombs should begin by 2060.

"It's the project of the century: we have carried out the scientific research for 50 years, and we now have 50 years for the authorisation and the realisation of the project," expressed Nagra Spokesperson Felix Glauser.

The monitoring period will span several decades before the site is sealed sometime in the 22nd century.

  • Switzerland
  • Finland
  • Europe
  • greenpeace
  • Sweden

Most Read

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben-Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

  • MENA
  • 18 May 2025
Rachel Accurso criticized for speaking out on Gaza children crisis

Ms. Rachel accused of antisemitism for speaking out for Gaza children

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025
Martyrs, injuries in violent Israeli bombardment of southern Gaza

Israeli operation fails; IOF launch violent strikes on Gaza

  • Politics
  • 19 May 2025
The spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, giving a statement on Friday, April 11, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemeni Armed Forces declare Haifa Port under naval siege

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
President Donald Trump, left, departs with U.S. Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven W. Gilland after speaking to United States Military Academy graduating cadets during commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Trump: US Army not for imposing democracy or culture abroad

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, on April 29, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu Shin Bet pick opposed prisoner swap deal, stirring outrage

Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP)
Politics

UN refuses to cooperate with 'Israel', US firms in Gaza aid scheme

A woman displaying a portrait of martyred Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, shows her ink-stained thumb after casting her vote at a polling station during municipal elections in the town of Nabatieh, south Lebanon, Saturday, May 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Lebanon concludes municipal elections amid Israeli strikes on south

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS