The German environmental and nature conservation organization BUND North Rhine-Westphalia has strongly criticized the approval of Castor shipments from Jülich and Garching to the Ahaus interim storage facility. Dirk Jansen, BUND’s managing director, stated that governments at both the federal and state levels, alongside the BASE regulatory authority, have eroded public trust.
Jansen argued that the atomic transports are not unavoidable, asserting that retaining the Castors in Jülich and constructing a secure interim storage facility there would have been a preferable solution. He anticipates that this decision will result in repeated relocation of nuclear waste, noting that even the storage of the Castors in Ahaus is only a temporary fix. North Rhine-Westphalia, he added, should now prepare for numerous risky transport operations through the densely populated Ruhr area.
Jansen expressed concern that the issuance of the transport permits bypassed a comprehensive legal review due to the immediate effect clause attached to the approvals. He contends that BASE could have reached a different conclusion, prioritizing the concerns of potentially affected citizens and the environment. He challenges BASE’s claim of lacking discretionary power, at least regarding this aspect of the permitting process. BUND has announced that it is currently evaluating all legal avenues to potentially halt the shipments.
