Decommissioning and demolition of the Greifswald nuclear power station

After the reunification of Germany, the four operating units of the Greifswald Nuclear Power Station were shut down, trial operation of Unit 5 was discontinued, and construction of Units 6 to 8 was halted. Studies of the possibility to modify the plants did not result in an economically viable solution. In December 1990, therefore, the decision was taken to decommission Units 1 to 4; the same decision for Unit 5 was taken in 1991. As specified in the Unification Treaty (Sec. 57a, Atomic Energy Act), the operating permits are valid until June 30, 1995. A first application has been filed with the authorities for a permit to hold and decommission the plant, and dismantle plant components. That permit is expected to be issued on time to allow decommissioning activities to be started in November 1995. The unexpected decision to decommission the plants in Greifswald makes the management and disposal of fuels and plant waste a major issue to be solved as a precondition for decommissioning and dismantling. the decisive point in waste management is the existence of an interim store or repository of sufficient capacity to accept both the nuclear fuel and the plant waste and the considerable volumes of radioactive residues arising in dismantling. Current major activities include planning for decommissioning and demolition, and drafting of the licensing documents; removal of the fuel elements from the reactor units; construction of the northern interim store for fuel elements and residues.