Konrad mine

The Konrad mine is an abandoned iron ore mine in the city of Salzgitter area between the districts Bleckenstedt and Sauingen east of the A39, about eight miles from Brunswick. It is named after Konrad end, the former Chairman of Salzgitter AG, named. The mine is being converted into a repository for radioactive waste with negligible heat generation. About 90 percent of radioactive waste arising in Germany belong to this category, but they contain only about 0.1 % of the total radioactivity of all waste. The headframe of the shaft Konrad 1 is clearly visible from the A39 and the road north from industry. It is a landmark and is a listed building. The Konrad 2 is located on the site of Salzgitter Stahl GmbH flat.

Prehistory

The iron ore deposits were in the 19th century based on the industrialization in the room Salzgitter. The first Salzgitteraner ore was promoted in 1867. The Konrad mine is the youngest of the former iron ore mines in this region. The ore was opened by two shafts, one of which Konrad 1 around 1232 meters and Konrad 2 was about 999 meters deep. The production operation lasted from 1961 to 1976 at this time. Total 6.7 million tons of iron ore were promoted.

Approval process for final disposal

Konrad has been determined in a nuclear process with public participation to the repository. The Konrad mine is dry unusual for an iron ore mine. Since this is an important selection criterion for a final repository for radioactive waste, was established in 1975 started with corresponding studies on the possibility of a final disposal. After these had been positive, presented the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt ( PTB) as the then responsible for the disposal of federal agency August 31, 1982 a request for a plan approval process. Since the documents acquired so far was considered incomplete for the plan approval process, an expanded site investigation program was started for the long-term safety of this pit and adding to the existing plan data at the same time.

The public hearing took place between September 1992 and March 1993. In this all relevant topics for the Konrad repository between the Company for the construction and operation of repositories, the applicant ( Federal Office for Radiation Protection ) and the approval authority shall discuss ( Lower Saxony Ministry of Environment). After nearly 20 years of the approval process ( zoning decision ) was granted on 22 May 2002. It involves the incorporation of a maximum of 303,000 m³ " radioactive waste with negligible heat generation ." Against the decision several lawsuits have been filed in the Supreme Administrative Court of Lüneburg. Key action points were the long-term safety, accidents, transport of radioactive waste, radioactive contamination in normal operation as well as the planning powers of local authorities. The hearing took place on 28 February 2006 to March 2, 2006 held at the Higher Administrative Court of Lüneburg. The on 8 March 2006 verdict, dismissed the actions and did not allow the appeal. Because of the fundamental importance of the judgment sought individual claimants but a revision of the Federal Administrative Court (by leave to appeal ) to, but by judgment of 26 March 2007: was not accepted ( public notice 3 April 2007). Thus, the decision for the Konrad mine was confirmed last instance.

Since it has been found that the AVR reactor can not be as originally planned disposed of in the Konrad mine, since the 14C inventory of the reactor internals is too high, is currently being examined by the Jülich Research Centre with support from the BMBF within the CarboDISP project whether the approved limit for 14C in Konrad (400 TBq ) can be lifted.

The intention to spend the shipwreck of the leaders Asse II nuclear waste to herauszuholenden Konrad was now abandoned.

Repository mine

After last instance to confirm the award in 2007 for Konrad was started with the establishment of the technical facilities for the disposal and storage chambers. The conversion work will take several years to complete, beginning of storage was first provided in 2008 for the end of 2013. Following the reports of the repository construction company commissioned German Company for the Construction and operation of repositories (DBE ) but is currently not regarded as a completion and commissioning before 2019. Several storage compartments form a storage box. Theoretically up to nine storage areas will be excavated, which are connected by the six existing main soles in 800, 850, 1000, 1100, 1200 and 1300 meters depth. Since the total amount of nuclear waste einzulagernden was set at a maximum of 303,000 m³ in the planning approval process, only one of these storage fields is created. The storage compartments are created with a diameter of about 40 m at a bottom width of about 7 meters and a height of about 6 meters. Their length should - depending on geological and mining technical conditions - amount to between 100 and 1000 meters. After storage of the container, the chambers in sections cast with a mixture of recovered during excavation of rock material and cement to store nuclear waste there permanently.

The cost for the conversion of iron ore mine into a repository for nuclear waste amounts according to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection at about 2.2 billion euros. In the 1980s and 1990s, you still went out of 900 million euros. But already by the end of 2007 fell to 930 million euros for exploration and planning work. The cost of construction of the repository, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection in the waste producers account.

In March 2013, the DBE announced that the commissioning of the repository could be delayed due to additional remediation efforts until 2021.

Events

During the festive days of new music in 2010 of the State Theater Braunschweig concert SHINE with the pieces PARADISE GLOSS and NEBADON from the cycle KLANG by Karlheinz Stockhausen was performed on May 29, 2010. Originally, the event in the transformer hall should take place, but was still at the event outside moved into the immediate vicinity of the shaft tower Schacht Konrad 1. This was due to noisy residual noise after shutdown of most devices in the transformer hall. The event was organized by the orchestra director Martin Weller in close cooperation with the Federal Office for Radiation Protection.

Although in terms of the concert, the opinion had arisen that allow the Konrad mine should be presented positively, the Staatstheater Braunschweig was referring to the effect any position. So Martin Weller said: " We want to make Konrad neither socially acceptable nor attack him with the concert. "