Site selection
In the search for a final repository for high-level radioactive waste, BGR acts as a qualified advisor to the project developer in the site selection process in accordance with the “Site Selection act of a Site for a Final Repository for High-Level Radioactive Waste” (StandAG), BGE. Furthermore, BGR also conducts its own research projects in this field.
Current projects
Which final storage sites are being considered?
The Act on the Search for and Selection of a Site for a Final Repository for Heat-Generating Radioactive Waste (StandAG) of May 2017 regulates the site selection process. Starting with the entire federal territory – a blank map of Germany – the regions to be explored are identified using criteria and requirements specified in the Act. The regions in Germany that are considered worthy of investigation after applying all these criteria and requirements are assessed during the site selection process. In Germany, the host rock types rock salt, clay rock, and crystalline rock are considered suitable for the final disposal of high-level radioactive waste in accordance with the StandAG.
What role does BGR play in the site selection process?
On the basis of a cooperation agreement (in German), BGR advises and supports the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE) in implementing the geoscientific part of the Site Selection Act (StandAG). The BGE is responsible for carrying out the site selection process.
On the basis of an administrative agreement (in German), BGR advises and supports the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) in tasks related to the search and selection of a final repository site for high-level radioactive waste in accordance with the Site Selection Act, as well as geoscientific research in this context.
BGR carries out the tasks assigned to it by the BGE and the BASE on its own technical (geoscientific and geotechnical) and administrative responsibility and without instruction.
The implementation of the site selection process, e.g., with the application of the criteria specified by law and the identification of sub-areas, is the responsibility of the BGE as the project implementer of the site selection process. In 2020 the BGE published the Sub-areas Interim Report at the end of Step 1 in Phase I. In this report, it identified 90 areas that are expected to have favourable geological conditions for the safe final storage of radioactive waste, and thus narrowed the search area down to around 54 % of Germany's territory. BGR did not participate in the drafting of the Sub-areas Interim Report, but carried out various tasks related to site selection on behalf of the BGE that are directly related to this topic.
In the current Step 2 of Phase I, exploration regions are being identified within the designated sub-areas, which will be explored on the surface in the subsequent Phase ll. The BGE plans to propose the site regions for surface-based exploration by the end of 2027.
Phase II of the process involves exploration from the surface in the identified site regions. The surface-based exploration serves to determine the site-specific geoscientific data required for the reapplication of the geoscientific requirements and criteria in accordance with the StandAG and for conducting the further preliminary safety analyses.
BGR is providing technical expertise in the planning and implementation of geoscientific exporation work in the site regions designated by the BGE. In the GeoMePS and ZuBeMErk projects, it is compiling a catalogue of suitable methods for surface geoscientific and geophysical exploration in accordance with Section 16 of the Site Selection Act (StandAG). The status of the work is documented on an ongoing basis in interim and final reports, e.g., on the compilation of basic exploration objectives, the procedure for combining exploration objectives and exploration methods in a customized database, and the development of an exploration concept with proposals for above-ground exploration in the site selection process.
In the project "The impact of future glacigenic erosion on the minimum depth of a radioactive waste repository", BGR investigated the minimum depth (300 meters below the ground surface or deeper) that should be used as the upper limit for the isolating rock zone in view of the possibility of future subglacial channel formation in the site selection process. The ice age channels in Northern Germany show a clear regional division into zones of similar maximum depth and provide a basis for estimating potential future erosion. The designation of regionally variable minimum depths for the isolating rock zone can be based on the depth zones presented in this study.
Since the start of the site search in 2017, BGR has worked on various geoscientific issues for the BGE, among others:
- Exclusion criterion: large-scale vertical movements
- Exclusion criterion: active fault zones
- Exclusion criterion: seismic activity
- Exclusion criterion: volcanic activity
- Exclusion criterion: groundwater age
- Exploration methods for surface exploration (GeoMEPS, ZuBeMErk)
- Significance of future glacial erosion for the minimum depth of a final repository
- Prognosis of the internal development of salt structures
- Building blocks for quantifying uncertainties in geological models (GeoBlocks),
- Development of geophysical measurement methods and combinations of methods for creating high-resolution surface exploration programs (GeoMetEr),
- Basic data for evaluating the temperature field of sedimentary subareas (ThermoBase),
- Claystone heterogeneities (maturity), and
- Technical quality check.
The results of BGR's work on behalf of the BGE and from its own research projects on the site selection process are available for download under "Products".
The site selection process in accordance with StandAG
The site selection process began in 2017 on the basis of the Site Selection Act (StandAG) with Step 1 of Phase I and the identification of sub-areas. The Site Selection Act specifies the exclusion criteria, minimum requirements, and geoscientific assessment criteria to be applied for identifying sub-areas and continuously in the ongoing process.
The Site Selection Act (StandAG) and the associated ordinances (EndlSiAnfV - Final Storage Safety Requirements Ordinance; EndlSiUntV - Final Storage Safety Investigation Ordinance) form the framework for selecting a suitable site for the construction of a final repository for high-level radioactive waste in Germany. They formulate the legal basis which is intended to ensure that a site is identified which, with the best possible safety, “guarantees the permanent protection of humans and the environment against ionizing radiation and other harmful effects of this waste for a period of one million years” (cf. Section 1 (2) StandAG).
On September 28, 2020, the BGE published its Sub-areas Interim Report. In this report, it identified those areas that are expected to have favourable geological conditions for the safe final disposal of radioactive waste in accordance with Section 13 of the Site Selection Act. The Site Selection Act stipulates which exclusion criteria, minimum requirements and geoscientific assessment criteria are to be applied.
In Step 2 of Phase I, the identification of sub-areas is followed by a comparative analysis based on existing data using representative preliminary safety investigations in accordance with EndlSiAnfV and EndlSiUntV and the reapplied geoscientific weighing criteria to determine site regions with favourable overall geological setting. Furthermore, planning scientific assessment criteria are applied. As the implementer, the BGE is developing a proposal for the site regions to be explored above ground. Those regions are planned to be proposed until the end of 2027.
Once the site regions to be explored on the surface have been determined, Phase II of the selection process will involve exploration above ground, e.g., by means of drilling and geophysical measurements. Based on the exploration results, the implementer will carry out so-called further preliminary safety investigations and socio-economic potential analyses. Based on the results and reapplying the requirements and criteria set out in Sections 22-24 of the StandAG, suitable sites will be identified. This will be followed by the reapplication of planning criteria. Based on the knowledge gained, the implementer proposes sites for underground exploration. Once a decision has been made on the sites to be explored underground, in Phase III underground exploration at these sites begins. Based on the results of this more detailed exploration, the project developer conducts so-called comprehensive preliminary safety investigations. The implementer determines sites by reapplying the requirements and criteria set out in Sections 22 to 24. Planning-scientific criteria are also applied again.
This is followed by a site comparison and a proposal by the implementer, which is submitted to the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE). The BASE performs regulatory tasks for the Federal Government in the area of final storage. It reviews the proposal, including the underlying comparison of at least two sites, evaluates which site offers the best possible safety, and forwards the results to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). The acceptance of the proposal is decided by Federal Law.
According to the StandAG, the site selection process is seeked to be completed by 2031. In December 2022, the BGE presented a framework schedule according to which the decision on the site for a final repository for high-level radioactive waste will be made in the 2040s at the earliest.