Keystone-SDA
Nagra welcomes a possible popular vote on the storage of nuclear waste. With legitimation by the people, the organization also hopes for a faster procedure, Nagra CEO Matthias Braun told the NZZ on Tuesday.
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November 19, 2024 – 05:09
(Keystone-ATS) A project of this size needs, in addition to a technical examination, legitimation through direct democracy, said Matthias Braun in an interview published on Tuesday by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). The meeting was prompted by the submission, on the same day, of the application for general authorization for the disposal of radioactive waste in deep geological layers to the Federal Office of Energy.
It is right that the population is concerned about this issue, declared the CEO. Oppositions could also block the procedure. “It is all the more important that a national vote on the final deposit takes place,” he continued. He would consider possible approval from the Swiss people as a “strong signal” to move forward.
A committee in favor of a popular decision
Last week, a committee requested that after Parliament, the Swiss decide on the project. He believed that the people should have the last word on such a complex matter.
Opponents particularly criticized the absence of a plan B and the possibility of abandonment. A landfill for radioactive waste also represents a danger for future generations, for humans and for the environment, they criticized.
New nuclear power plants: no room for waste
It has been known since September 2022 that the nuclear waste repository is to be drilled in the Zurich municipality of Stadel. “We are planning deep disposal for an amount of waste that would be produced by 60 years of operation of existing nuclear power plants,” said Matthias Braun. A reserve has also been provided. If Switzerland were to build new nuclear power plants, their waste would not have a place in the planned repository.
The competent federal services will verify the application for general authorization by spring 2025. The Federal Council and Parliament will decide on the disposal of radioactive waste in deep geological layers from 2029. The start of construction is planned for 2045.
“If the people reject the deep deposit, for example during a possible referendum in 2030, the ball will be in the politicians’ court. A new process will then have to be launched,” Matthias Braun said in the interview. Responsibility for radioactive waste would then be passed to the next generation.
