Grafenrheinfeld interim storage facility
The Grafenrheinfeld interim storage facility in Lower Franconia south of Schweinfurt on the left bank of the River Main in the Free State of Bavaria went into operation with the emplacement of the first CASTOR V/19 type cask on 27 February 2006. The licence under the Atomic Energy Act for the storage of nuclear fuels in the Grafenrheinfeld interim storage facility expires 40 years after emplacement of the first cask. BGZ has been responsible for operating the Grafenrheinfeld interim storage facility since 1 January 2019.
The Grafenrheinfeld interim storage facility is located on the site of the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant and is enclosed within the nuclear power plant site. This means that CASTOR casks only need to be moved a short distance from the reactor building to the interim storage facility and that no public roads need to be used. The entire site is protected by a security perimeter fence.
The site houses two storage areas with a capacity of 88 spaces: Storage area 1 has a surface area of 670 m² for 40 spaces; storage area 2 covers 760 m² for 48 spaces. Casks are stored in 5 or 6 double rows, each with 8 spaces.
Grafenrheinfeld interim storage facility
(Bavaria)
Kraftwerkstraße
97506 Grafenrheinfeld
Operator: BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH
Cask spaces: 88 licensed | 54 occupied*
Current occupancy: 54 CASTOR V/19
Application: 2000
License: 2003
Commissioning: 2006
Licensed until: 2046
Licensed inventory: Maximum 800 t SM** | Maximum 3 MW***
* On 30 June 2024
** t SM = Tonnes of heavy metal
*** MW = Total thermal power in megawatts
Interim storage facility for low-level and intermediate-level waste
BGZ operates the Grafenrheinfeld interim storage facility for low-level and intermediate-level waste. The facility is used to store residues from the operation and dismantling of the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant, in particular, until this waste can be put safely into final storage at the Konrad repository.
The packaged low-level and intermediate-level waste consists, for example, of contaminated plant components, tools, protective clothing or used filters. AZR was commissioned in 2021. As the low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste produced during the operation and dismantling of the nuclear power plant is stored here, these interim storage facilities play an important role in the dismantling of the nuclear power plant.
Interim storage facility for low-level and intermediate-level waste Grafenrheinfeld (AZR)
Commissioned: 2021
Licensing / Supervisory authority: Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt (LfU)
Facility’s external dimensions: 28m x 101m x 17m
