Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 1 hr ago
Swiss nuclear waste repository plan faces decades of questions
Switzerland has produced radioactive waste for decades through nuclear power, medicine, industry and research.
The national cooperative Nagra is tasked by the Swiss government with finding a way to store it.
Four years ago, it proposed Nördlich Lägern in the Zurich region for a deep geological repository.
Waste will not be stored there for decades, and the plan raises many questions.
At a public meeting with energy minister Albert Rösti, nearly 500 people gathered and asked more than 170 questions.
Nagra’s latest magazine and a short documentary explore why nuclear waste cannot simply be recycled.
Used fuel was once sent to France and England for reprocessing, but the process is considered problematic because of high costs, chemical risks and radioactive residues.
Switzerland has produced radioactive waste for decades from nuclear power, medicine, industry and research.
Nagra proposed the Nördlich Lägern region in Zurich Unterland for a deep geological repository four years ago.
It will be decades before nuclear waste is stored there, and the plan still raises many questions.
At a public information meeting on September 7, nearly 500 people gathered and more than 170 questions were asked.
Nagra’s annual 500m+ magazine aims to encourage public debate about the repository for more than 100 years.
- Who
- Nagra, the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, is responsible for addressing the issue on behalf of the Swiss Confederation.
- What
- Switzerland plans a deep geological repository for radioactive waste in Nördlich Lägern.
- When
- Nagra proposed the region four years before the article was published in October 2026. Storage is still decades away.
- Where
- Nördlich Lägern, in Zurich Unterland, Switzerland.
- Why
- Switzerland has radioactive waste from nuclear power generation, medicine, industry and research, and needs a way to manage it.
Critics of the repository
Nagra
Position
Critics of the repository
Protesters opposed a nuclear waste repository and new nuclear power plants.
Nagra
Nagra has proposed Nördlich Lägern for a deep geological repository.
Public debate
Critics of the repository
More than 170 questions were raised at the information meeting.
Nagra
Nagra’s 500m+ magazine aims to promote public discussion, including by giving critics a voice.
Nagra was founded.
The first issue of Nagra’s 500m+ magazine was published.
Nagra proposed Nördlich Lägern for a deep geological repository.
Nearly 500 people attended a public information meeting in Fisibach, where more than 170 questions were asked.
The fifth issue of 500m+, titled Trash, and a documentary about nuclear waste recycling were published.
- Proposed repository
- Nördlich Lägern, in Zurich Unterland
- Required depth
- At least 500 metres
- Public meeting attendance
- Nearly 500 people
- Questions at meeting
- More than 170
- Nagra founded
- 1972
- 500m+ issue
- Fifth issue, titled Trash