13 Nov An evening in a constructive atmosphere

On 11 November, Danish Decommissioning invited locals to a dialogue on the plans for a new, upgraded storage facility.

When director Ole Kastbjerg Nielsen welcomed visitors to Danish Decommissioning on Monday at 5 pm, 60 curious Roskilde citizens had gathered in Risø's large auditorium. After a short presentation of our tasks, including the management of radioactive waste, the doors were opened for a tour of the open air. During the two-kilometre walk, visitors could see the current waste storage facilities, the piles of stored uranium ore and the desired location of a new, upgraded waste storage facility.

Back in the warmth of the auditorium, more citizens joined, and at 7 PM, the second part of the evening commenced: an information meeting on the plans for the new construction. Ole Kastbjerg Nielsen extended a welcome alongside Roskilde's Mayor Tomas Breddam, after which the project, the processes for the local plan and environmental assessment, an overall timeline, and citizens' opportunities to be heard were presented through a series of short presentations.

Following the flow of information from the podium, it was time for direct engagement. In the auditorium's foyer, two stands were set up for citizens to circulate among. Representatives from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Danish Building and Property Agency, Roskilde Municipality, and Danish Decommissioning staffed the stands; one focused on the project and environmental assessment, the other on the local plan. After forty-five minutes of dialogue, Ole Kastbjerg Nielsen concluded the meeting by thanking attendees for the many constructive inputs and noted that most discussions concerned the storage facility's location and its visual impact on the surroundings, the future fencing of the Risø area, and plans to also establish a small exhibition about the waste.

Later this year, the Environmental Protection Agency will invite public proposals for topics that should be assessed in an upcoming report on the environmental consequences of the new storage facility. Once the material for the so-called idea phase is published, the link will also be announced on dekom.dk.

View the complete timeline for a new, upgraded storage facility (NOL)