We welcome our two new members from Switzerland: Weiach and Würenlingen communes. We asked the mayors of these two communes to provide nuclear highlights from Switzerland to learn a bit more about our new members and the situation in Switzerland.

Nuclear highlights from Mr. Stefan Arnold, President of the municipality of Weiach

The search for the most suitable site for a deep geological repository is regulated in the Federal Government’s Sectoral Plan process. Based on this, Nagra announced Nördlich Lägern as the safest site for a deep geological repositroy in september 2022.

In order to protect humans and the environment, Switzerland will dispose of its radioactive waste in a deep geological repository. The search for the most suitable repository site is being carried out in line with the “Sectoral Plan for Deep Geological Repositories”. The Federal Government has the lead in this broadly-based procedure. The decisive factor in determining the safety of a repository site is the stability of the underground conditions rather than of those at the surface. Geology and operational safety, rather than political factors, are the only important consideration in determining the most suitable site. Socio-economic and spatial-planning aspects also play a role, but they are secondary to safety.

Affected parties can participate in the site selection process. The responsible Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) provides more information on regional participation.

 

Nuclear highlights from Mr. Patrick Zimmermann, Mayor of Würenlingen

In Switzerland currently four reactors are in operation for electrical power production which are the NPP Leibstadt with one BWR unit, NPP Beznau in Döttinge

n with 2 PWR units as well as the NPP Gösgen with 1 PWR unit.

In Würenlingen the central interim storage facility is located where all nuclear waste from power production is conditioned and stored until the final repository will be opened. As part of the the sectoral plan for geological repositories an extension of the existing interim storage facility has been proposed for packaging and preparation of the nuclear waste for final repository. Neighbour to the interim storage facility is the Paul Scherrer Institute, a world renowned research facility that once started with reactor science in the 50ies of the last century. The Paul Scherrer institute is also responsible for collecting and running the storage facility for radioactive waste from industry, medicine and research that will also find their way to the final repository once it is opened.

The interim storage facility ZWILAG as well as the federal storage at Paul Scherrer Institute are both located in Würenlingen.

The link to our municipal website is: www.wuerenlingen.ch