Brennelement-Zwischenlager Ahaus GmbH
Ammeln 59
48683 Ahaus / GermanyPhone 02561 426-0
Fax 02561 426-99
Email info@bgz.de
Waste currently in the Ahaus interim storage facility
Six CASTOR-V type casks with spent fuel elements from German light water reactors have been stored in the TBL-A since March 1998. The 305 considerably smaller CASTOR-THTR casks which are stored at the same location are loaded with irradiated fuel elements from the decommissioned Thorium High-Temperature Reactor (THTR) in Hamm-Uentrop. The transport of these fuel elements to the Ahaus interim storage facility was indispensable for the decommissioning of this nuclear power plant. 18 CASTOR MTR 2 type casks with fuel elements from the research reactor in Rossendorf have also been stored here since 2005.
Stored fuel elements and low-level radioactive waste
First Konrad container stored in the western half of the storage hall
The TBL-A covers an area of approximately 5,000 m² with 420 spaces for transport and storage casks. The 329 CASTOR casks use just over ten percent of the available storage capacity. Low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the operation and decommissioning of German nuclear power plants has consequently been stored in the western half of the hall since 2010. This waste will be transferred to the Konrad repository as soon as this is ready. BGZ submitted an application to the district government of Münster in August 2016 for the extended storage of the low-level radioactive waste to ensure that storage of this waste continues on a secure legal basis until it is transferred to the Konrad repository. The previously licensed type, maximum quantity and activity inventory of the low-level radioactive waste remain unchanged.
Safety and environmental protection
Radiation at the perimeter fence is permanently monitored. The figures for radiation measured here since storage began have fluctuated within the range for natural radiation and are therefore well below the thresholds stipulated in the Radiation Protection Ordinance (Strahlenschutzverordnung). In addition to monitoring by BGZ, the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection of North Rhine-Westphalia (LANUV) also operates its own monitoring system around the plant independently of BGZ. The authorities publish the figures measured on a daily basis at: www.rfue.nrw.de
