Radioactive waste repository could be built in Czechia within decades, says state agency

A deep repository for radioactive waste is technically possible to build in the Czech Republic within a time horizon of several decades, the spokeswoman of the country’s Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO) Martina Bílá told the Czech News Agency on Wednesday.

The statement comes amid plans to build a 500m deep repository that could house thousands of tons of waste from nuclear power stations in the Czech Republic by the year 2065. However, this date is still behind the deadline set out in the European Commission’s sustainability taxonomy draft, which counts on nuclear power stations having their waste repositories finished by 2050, the Czech News Agency writes.

Four areas have been proposed for this purpose by SÚRAO for this purpose - Janoch near Temelín, Horka near Třebíč, Hrádek near Jihlava, or Březový potok near Klatovy. The state's approach to finding the repository has long been criticized by the domestic organisation Platform against the Deep Repository, which represents 35 municipalities and 16 associations.

The state has been looking for a permanent nuclear waste storage facility since the 1990s. Based on previous statements, the Czech News Agency reports that its construction and maintenance would cost CZK 111 billion. Currently, the spent fuel from nuclear units is stored in the warehouses near the power plant premises.