Switzerland selects site near German border for nuclear waste storage

Authorities in Switzerland have selected a site in the northern pary of the country, close to the German border, for a storage facility for nuclear waste. The storage facility will be deep underground. Switzerland is starting its "project of the century" which will include burying spent nuclear fuel deep underground in clay.

The organisation in charge of handling the country's radioactive waste said Saturday it had decided that the Nordlich Lagern region was the best of three sites it had been considering for the underground storage facility.

We "chose Nordlich Lagern as the safest site for a deep geological repository," Felix Glauser, a spokesman for the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra), told AFP in an email, confirming a report by Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS.

"Extensive investigations have shown that Nordlich Lagern is the most suitable site and has the largest safety reserves," he added.

Keystone-ATS reported that Nagra has informed the local populace and is expected to present the proposal to government on Monday.

Final decision from the government is unlikely to come until 2029. The issue will then likely go to a referendum.

Switzerland has opearted nuclear power plants for more than half a century. However, the country decided to phase out nuclear power after 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

For now, the waste is being stored in an "intermediary depot" in Wurenlingen, some 15 kilometres from the German border.

With the new facility, Switzerland hopes to join an elite club of countries closing in on deep geological storage.

(With inputs from agencies)

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