The “No nuclear waste in Ahaus” campaign alliance holds a vigil in front of the Ahaus interim storage facility, where the second Castor container of nuclear waste is expected. Credit: David-Wolfgang Ebener/dpa
A second shipment of highly radioactive nuclear waste has arrived at an interim storage facility in Ahaus in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia under heavy security, police said early on Wednesday.
The Castor container was transported about 170 kilometres from the western city of Jülich to Ahaus in the Münsterland region, reaching the site early in the morning without major incident, a police spokesman said.
The convoy had departed Jülich later than planned on Tuesday evening due to delays in operational preparations, police in Münster said, adding that the postponement did not pose any safety risk.
The shipment follows a first transport along the same route about four weeks ago that also proceeded without incident.
The waste is being moved in Castor containers, specialized casks designed to shield radiation, with the transports escorted by a large police presence.
A total of 152 containers are due to be transferred over several months from Jülich to Ahaus.
Anti-nuclear activists held vigils in Jülich, Ahaus and along the expected route to protest against the shipments. One banner in Jülich described the transports as “ill-conceived, unnecessary and dangerous.”
Organizers said about 300 people attended a demonstration in Ahaus, while police estimated the turnout at around 180.
The transports stem from a 2014 order by North Rhine-Westphalia’s nuclear regulator to clear the interim storage facility in Jülich.
