Under immense security, one of Germany’s largest radioactive waste transports in decades commenced in North Rhine-Westphalia. Late Tuesday evening, a heavy-load transporter carrying a Castor container departed the former research reactor site in Jülich, arriving at the interim storage facility in Ahaus, Münsterland, approximately four hours later at 2 AM. The convoy, spanning about 170 kilometers, was accompanied by an estimated 2,400 police officers and dozens of emergency vehicles, facing vocal protests along its undisclosed route. Despite temporary closures of motorway sections, including parts of the A44 where overtaking was impossible, the police reported the transport as “fully on schedule” and even slightly ahead of plan.
From the outset, demonstrators gathered in Jülich and along potential routes, attempting smaller blockades and holding rallies that were subsequently dispersed by law enforcement. The environmental organization BUND had previously sought a legal injunction to halt these transports, but without success; the Oberverwaltungsgericht Berlin-Brandenburg ruled in early March that the operations could proceed. This initial convoy marks the beginning of a prolonged series of transfers, with a total of 152 Castor containers holding roughly 300,000 fuel element spheres slated to be moved from Jülich to Ahaus. The limited number of specialized vehicles, each capable of transporting only one container, indicates that this complex logistical operation will extend over a considerable period.
The necessity for these extensive transports stems from the expiration of the operating license for the Jülich interim storage facility in 2013. A critical factor was the insufficient proof of earthquake safety, which led the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to mandate its evacuation in 2014. Initial considerations for constructing a new storage facility on-site were ultimately discarded, paving the way for the decision to relocate the nuclear waste to Ahaus, a move that has reignited the long-standing debate about nuclear waste management.
Even within official ranks, the operation faces scrutiny. Representatives of the Police Union (GdP) have previously labeled the transports a “senseless mammoth task,” highlighting the enormous personnel expenditure as a direct consequence of Germany’s unresolved fundamental issue: the persistent absence of a permanent repository for high-level radioactive waste. Consequently, nuclear waste continues to be housed in interim storage facilities, such as the one in Ahaus. This temporary solution lies at the heart of the problem for many protestors, who have already announced plans for further demonstrations against the successive transports in the coming weeks and months, underscoring the ongoing public dissent and the enduring challenge of nuclear waste disposal.
