New resistance at Morsleben nuclear dump
http://de.indymedia.org//2004/03/76505.shtml New resistance is forming against the storage of atomic waste in the former East German "final dump" at Morsleben near Helmstedt in northern Germany.
In mid-March the first information and networking seminar is taking place. Research into background, waste inputs etc. has been going on for some time.
The former mine is in the state of Saxony-Anhalt near the town of Helmstedt. Morsleben is a village in the Beverspring joint administrative area in the county Ohrekreis, whose capital is Haldensleben.
From 1945 until 1990, Helmstedt lay on the border between East Germany and West Germany and served as a border crossing point.
Exploration of the salt deposit, which is between 40 and 50 kilometres long and on average two km broad, began 100 years ago. First salt was mined, then potash. The salt deposit is correspondingly full of holes making the mine unstable and wet.
Until 1991 about 14,430 cubic metres of waste was placed inside and until the final storage stop in 1998 the federal government put in another 22,320 cubic metres. That means the federal government is responsible for the greater share of the waste being in the mine, although it is always boasting about the allegedly high german safety standards. Greenpeace reports some waste stored for which there was not even a permit.
There was isolated criticism already in GDR times against nuclear storing. But the existing environmental activists do not seem to have recognised the full implications of Morsleben.
The secrecy and special status because of the proximity to the border then slicing Germany let hardly any information trickle out.
There is still no valid permit for permanent depositing of atomic waste. For that the mine’s longterm safety would have to be proved.
Anti-nuclear activists have demanded since the early 1990s that the waste be taken out of the old mine again.
A seminar about the Morsleben dump will be run in March, a mobile exhibition will start in September.
Actions and shared tasks are to be discussed at the networking seminar. It will have two sections. On Saturday 20 March will be the content part, with a representative of the Federal Agency for Radiation Protection (BfS), mayors of the region, environmental activists and critical scientists giving their assessments of safety, the sense or nonsense of taking part in official planning procedures, the mood in the region and so on.
From Saturday evening until Sunday ideas will be collected for activities, networking and information exchange.
The seminar is being funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is close to the Social Democrats, so that participation (vegan and ecological meals, sleeping in sleeping bags and on insulation mats) costs only 10 respectively 5 euros.
Prior registration is necessary, best by phone to the regional office of the foundation at 0391-568760.
More information about the seminar, the dump and the activities is available at phone 01 62-860 89 49 or per email at
Morsleben@greenkids.de. There are also a provisional Internet site at http://www.morsleben.de.vu/ and an email newsletter that can be subscribed from there.
More information on the campaign and the mine dump will follow in the coming weeks.
e-Mail:: morsleben@greenkids.de ¦ Homepage:: http://www.morsleben.de.vu/ ¦ Address:: Karl-Schmidt-Str. 4, 39104 Magdeburg ¦ Phone: 01 62-78 68 204
Earlier report
Morsleben: What comes after the closure? http://de.indymedia.org//2003/12/70897.shtml
From 1945 until 1990, Helmstedt lay on the border between East Germany and West Germany and served as a border crossing point.
Exploration of the salt deposit, which is between 40 and 50 kilometres long and on average two km broad, began 100 years ago. First salt was mined, then potash. The salt deposit is correspondingly full of holes making the mine unstable and wet.
Until 1991 about 14,430 cubic metres of waste was placed inside and until the final storage stop in 1998 the federal government put in another 22,320 cubic metres. That means the federal government is responsible for the greater share of the waste being in the mine, although it is always boasting about the allegedly high german safety standards. Greenpeace reports some waste stored for which there was not even a permit.
There was isolated criticism already in GDR times against nuclear storing. But the existing environmental activists do not seem to have recognised the full implications of Morsleben.
The secrecy and special status because of the proximity to the border then slicing Germany let hardly any information trickle out.
There is still no valid permit for permanent depositing of atomic waste. For that the mine’s longterm safety would have to be proved.
Anti-nuclear activists have demanded since the early 1990s that the waste be taken out of the old mine again.
A seminar about the Morsleben dump will be run in March, a mobile exhibition will start in September.
Actions and shared tasks are to be discussed at the networking seminar. It will have two sections. On Saturday 20 March will be the content part, with a representative of the Federal Agency for Radiation Protection (BfS), mayors of the region, environmental activists and critical scientists giving their assessments of safety, the sense or nonsense of taking part in official planning procedures, the mood in the region and so on.
From Saturday evening until Sunday ideas will be collected for activities, networking and information exchange.
The seminar is being funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is close to the Social Democrats, so that participation (vegan and ecological meals, sleeping in sleeping bags and on insulation mats) costs only 10 respectively 5 euros.
Prior registration is necessary, best by phone to the regional office of the foundation at 0391-568760.
More information about the seminar, the dump and the activities is available at phone 01 62-860 89 49 or per email at
Morsleben@greenkids.de. There are also a provisional Internet site at http://www.morsleben.de.vu/ and an email newsletter that can be subscribed from there. More information on the campaign and the mine dump will follow in the coming weeks.
e-Mail::
morsleben@greenkids.de ¦ Homepage:: http://www.morsleben.de.vu/ ¦ Address:: Karl-Schmidt-Str. 4, 39104 Magdeburg ¦ Phone: 01 62-78 68 204 Earlier report
Morsleben: What comes after the closure?
http://de.indymedia.org//2003/12/70897.shtml 
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