Germany’s only nuclear storage test facility has been deemed unsafe for use.
Experts have called for the Gorleben salt dome, which by 2030 was to be the nation’s national high-level nuclear waste storage facility, to be closed as a result of legal and safety concerns regarding the site.
Activities at the site, according to German Environment Minister Sigma Gabriel, had not been documented in a transparent way.
Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl has been accused of brushing over legal and safety concerns that said the site was not fit for such high-level waste.
Public protests and previous concern over the site caused a halt in research in 2000, but Berlin has since invested nearly $2bn into the site, according to a report on Nuclear Power Daily.
Current German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in favour of new research into Gorleben. However, others believe Germany should be investigating alternative options instead.
