Krümmel nuclear power plant can be demolished
Approval has been granted for the dismantling of the Krümmel nuclear power plant. The work will probably take around 15 years.
Krümmel nuclear power plant
(Image: Vattenfall)
The Krümmel nuclear power plant near Geesthacht, 30 kilometers south-east of Hamburg, can be demolished. The Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Environment, which is responsible for nuclear supervision, granted the operator Vattenfall permission to decommission and dismantle the nuclear power plant on Thursday. "The nuclear phase-out in Krümmel is progressing", said Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens). The dismantling work is expected to take around 15 years.
"With the approval granted today, what was once the largest boiling water reactor in the world is entering the dismantling phase," explained Goldschmidt. Preparations for dismantling were already underway during the post-operational phase. The fuel elements were placed in an interim storage facility at the Krümmel site, and experts carried out extensive system decontamination.
No longer on the grid since 2011
Krümmel was connected to the grid in 1984, ten years after construction began. The authorization for power operation expired in August 2011 due to a change in nuclear law following the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. At that time, the nuclear power plant had been off the grid almost continuously since summer 2007 due to breakdowns. It was finally shut down on July 4, 2009, and on August 24, 2015, Vattenfall submitted an application for decommissioning.
The Krümmel nuclear power plant generated a net total of more than 201 billion kWh of electricity. Dismantling of the Brunsbüttel nuclear power plant, which is also operated by Vattenfall, began in 2018. Approval for the dismantling of the Krümmel nuclear power plant has now been granted one month earlier than originally expected. Before a nuclear power plant can be decommissioned and dismantled, the operator must apply to the nuclear regulatory authority and obtain approval. In doing so, it must prove that it will dismantle the plant safely and comply with all regulations for the protection of people and the environment.
The state of Schleswig-Holstein charges Vattenfall a fee of one million euros for the approval for Krümmel. The nuclear supervisory authority intends to monitor all dismantling steps closely in the coming years. The nuclear supervisory authority must approve many steps, such as the dismantling of systems.
(anw)
