Statements on the safety of the planned Gorleben repository for radioactive waste, and on the safety of nuclear power plant and reprocessing facilities, presented on the occasion of hearings held by the Bundestag Committee for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety

The two contributions in this report deal with statements and opinions of experts relating to a number of issues all concerned with plant or site safety. These issues include ultimate storage of radioactive waste, waste reprocessing, and the nuclear power phaseout. The reservations heard in debates about the safety of the Gorleben repository have recently been aggravated and enlarged by an accident in a mine belonging to currently planned and examined sites. The Wackersdorf reprocessing project having been abandoned in favour of a cooperation agreement with COGEMA adds to the topicality of debates. The issues of reactor safety are discussed with a view to the risks and hazards involved in continuing the operation of nuclear power stations and reprocessing facilities, the international risk assessment procedures and debates, and the state of the art in waste management and disposal, which all seem to call for a nuclear power phaseout. (DG)