Transcripts For DW Made In Germany 20190619

I cant say i was here for the start but the Antinuclear Movement in germany was born in the 1970 s. These protests planted the seeds for the government led shift away from Nuclear Energy nearly 3 decades later for many of the people who went out to hit the streets it was a clear victory but was there really a Climate Crisis has forced many experts to reconsider Nuclear Energy and made even worse ill turn that it after all it has a much lower Carbon Footprint than many other conventional Power Sources today made it we ask ourselves why not nuclear but lets back up back in 20 alive and it became all too clear just how dangerous Nuclear Energy could be after a tsunami led to one of the biggest meltdowns in history the Company Behind the plant has struggled ever since to come back. Tepco the Company Responsible for the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear disaster more than 160000 people had to be evacuated the zone around the facility is still sealed off but tepco is still pursuing Nuclear Power with the blessing of the japanese government as you know as you well we learned from fukushima that Nuclear Power carries great risks but we believe that it is possible to operate Nuclear Power more safely. Tepco is preparing to open this Nuclear Power plant just 300 kilometers away from fukushima the local community is divided. Your company will never change theyll keep making the same mistakes when more. Nuclear power plant operators are aware of their image and tend to shy away from the media but our reporter karen darra managed to convince an official from tepco to agree to an interview hes convinced the technology can be made safe and wants to start reactivating plants taken off line after fukushima however people who live close of them arent so sure. Im standing in front of what may be tepco last chance because he was a Nuclear Power plant obtaining permission to film inside it took a long time for the past 7 years all the plants reactors have been idle now tepco wants to restart 2 of them then as you provider is in financial trouble and needs to pay for the consequences of a 2011 disaster in fukushima of course. While we learned from fukushima that Nuclear Power carries great risks but we believe that its possible to operate Nuclear Power more safely. Crisis does occur we can reduce the amount of Radioactive Material released 2150000 of the material during 4 shima one a government safety test has confirmed this with. The time i proudly shows off the new Safety Measures watertight doors in case of a tsunami. Additional struts to make the building more earthquake proof and filters to prevent radioactivity from escaping. What surprises me is that so many of these Safety Measures werent there in the 1st place these floodwalls for example the reactor buildings are right next to the sea and the walls are supposed to withstand its an army like the one in fukushima a fleet of diesel generator trucks stands ready on Higher Ground in case of power blackouts and the companys own fire trucks are there to put out places. But outside the Nuclear Plant not everyone in the surrounding towns is convinced of the power plant safety. I meet up with one of the few critics prepared to speak openly. To the. Even if there isnt an earthquake the ground beneath the power stations geologically stable. This is no place for Nuclear Power plants they cant even clean up fukushima. I dont think anyone trust them when they say they can restart the power plant. In fact in 2007 a major earthquake triggered an emergency at. All the reactors had to be shut down the Safety Measures were insufficient and radioactivity leaked a fire started outside one reactor. Tepco has yet to clarify the details of the fukushima accident i wonder how its going to guarantee safety here they have already been several incidents during construction work for the restart the flood wall turned out to be unstable cables caught fire and radioactive water leaked inside one of the idle reactor buildings. In the city of kashi was arky opinions differ as to whether the power plant should be put back into operation. In the most recent Regional Election about 50 percent of voters here chose an antinuclear candidate but few people will openly tell me anything negative about the power plant. Everyone here knows someone who is connected to it. Like sushi shift. Let them restart the reactor maybe ill get a few more customers because. Every time i hear about the latest incidents i think to myself again its one step forward 3 steps back i wish they would be much more. Detailed evacuation plans are still in the works numerous incidents have delayed construction when will the power plant be back on the grid. No one responsible could give me an exact date. Japan is still using Nuclear Power it has a total of 48. 00 Nuclear Reactors and japan is far from alone many other countries rely heavily on the technology for a study power supply in the us 100. 00 Nuclear Power plants and some European Countries are also highly dependent on. 58. 00 the fukushima disaster and in china but Nuclear Power is growing there too but money under construction russia has relied on Nuclear Power since of the soviet days there are 36. 00 plants there even Oil Rich Saudi Arabia is planning to put up Nuclear Plants to meet its future energy needs. The aftermath of the focus shima disaster germany to implementing the city to abandon Nuclear Power 10 power plants have been decommissioned in the country since then well the deadline to shut them all down by the end of 2022. But that still makes sense in a world made more complicated by Climate Change to have clean air and keep rising sea levels as low as possible we need Energy Sources that emit as little theo to as possible so does Nuclear Energy really offer the climate advantages that its proponents claim we decided to check it out. Nuclear power could save the Global Climate sounds implausible but in the current climate debate thats exactly what supporters of Atomic Energy are claiming they say do you want truly green energy youll get it from Nuclear Power plants they generate electricity with 0 c o 2 emissions. Compare that with coal fired power plants for one kilowatt hour of power they emit more than a kilogram of Carbon Dioxide the i. P. C. C. The uns Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says more Nuclear Energy is needed to keep Global Warming to the ambitious target of less than 1. 00 degrees celsius by 2050. Nonsense say opponents no Nuclear Power plant has 0 c o 2 emissions building the plant mining the uranium transporting it all that emit c o 2. In germany alone that amounts to 2400000 tons of c o 2 annually about as much as the emissions from a 1000000 passenger cars. Replacing c o 2 and making power plants would require some 1000. 00 new Nuclear Power plants worldwide says the International Energy agency 1000. 00 new power plants is that realistic it would cost at least 7000000000. 00 euros to build each one and probably more Safety Standards the growth stricter. In order for the Electricity Generation to breakeven operators of the new power plants would have to charge 12 euro cents per kilowatt hour compared with 0. 06 for wind generated electricity. To emissions but higher electricity prices. Would be willing to foot the bill. Well having to foot the bill is never popular but lets step back and look for a 2nd at the heart of this debate adams splitting them releases a large amount of energy but also deadly radiation a Risky Technology thats only still pursue it because of the possibly worse problem presented by Climate Change some people say the Nuclear Advantages outweigh the disadvantages in the u. S. It has more proponents than here in germany and many more startups researching the technology and its undeniable risks. Is this the future of Nuclear Power for now its just a model but the oregon based company new scale power says yes its designed small modular reactors or afghan are smaller safer and cheaper than current facilities it basically consists of a small reactor vessel which has everything that you need for Power Generation that sits inside of a small containment vessel that sits under water below ground so its a very simple concept. The Company Already has a control room stimulator private investors and the u. S. Department of energy have pushed hundreds of millions of dollars into development of new scale with find it in 2007 pounds Real World Testing is still to come. The process of getting a new design license and certified in the United States this is really rigorous so well spend we spent almost 40 months. About 40 months going through this review process that involved extensive testing. And there as i mentioned. Theres a lot of a lot of effort involved in getting a technology approved and making it available. Lucas who shells out also believes in a future for Atomic Energy technology the physicist does research at the Max Planck Institute for plasma physics and guys guys in northern germany. Theyve spent 9 years working on an experimental reactor called a stellar race or its based on a Different Technology Nuclear Fusion rather than the Fission Technology that you scale and the conventional bombs used today in principle Nuclear Fusion releases huge amounts of energy its modeled off of the reactions that produce the energy from the sun. Fusion important and there are a lot of ways to approach that question for exam. The raw material for it is available all over the world so there wouldnt be battles over resources like oil or uranium its safe and it c o 2. Who do shows that his colleagues still dont know at what temperature the fusion reaction will run bad. Its just one of the key questions that still need an answer. Hes often asked whether Nuclear Fusion will ever be a viable way to generate energy. That question doesnt really occupy me as long as the Technology Works its very unlikely that we wont have a use for it even if we could cover our energy needs with solar cells or whatever theyll still be applications where well want to draw on a consistent and steady source of energy. And. This is the Fusion Centers controlled room in 2018 a 100 scientists came here to carry out terrorist safety is an important question another is Nuclear Waste. All the materials are chosen to have a short decay time shorter mean several decades or centuries at most thats very little in comparison to the highly radioactive waste from conventional Nuclear Power plants its still a long time yet but its manageable. Scale small modular reactors would also produce Nuclear Waste each of expected to cost around 300000000. 00 whether they turn out to be a commercial success will depend on has the technology is in this design under the worst case conditions the reactor will simply shut itself down without any operator action without any computer action without any ac or d. C. Power and remain cool for unlimited periods without the need to water. Some experts are still skeptical. The safety of the many modules but new power plants whether using Nuclear Fission or fusion might end up in operation sooner than we think. Because scientists working on them are convinced that their innovations could help address the Climate Crisis. Heres another problem clogging up the debate what to do with the waste which is radioactive and stays that way for thousands of years it has to be stored safely deep underground a lot is currently kept in old mines but thats just a stopgap measure in about 4 years the last Nuclear Power plant in germany is set to go offline for what to do with the waste the plants have generated over the decades our reporter Christian Press save us went to check out a repository thats being built for the ages. Starting in 2027 radioactive Nuclear Waste will be stored in this disused iron mine then these huge tunnels will be closed off with walls of cement and the waste will be left to decay the idea is that this final repository nears its geta will be able to contain the radioactivity for 300000 years. Thomas how much is the technical manager here hes overseen the conversion of the concord mine into a functioning Storage Facility. Now i have the chance as a journalist to visit the construction site nearly a 1000 meters below ground i have to carry a self rescue kit if necessary they will supply of oxygen to protect me against deadly mine gases. In the tunnels extend for many kilometers iron ore was mined here for more than a century until 976. We drive through the labyrinth of passageways. A journey through millions of years of rock and clay strata. No dont jump no jumping. Strict safety regulations are observed down here now its his father was a miner and he followed in his fathers footsteps to become a mining engineer today hes responsible for a 1000 employees for few when i started working in mining 40 years ago i never thought id end up running a mine that was my dream but you never think it will happen when the work on germany still has 7 operating Nuclear Power stations Nuclear Waste has been piling up for more than 60 years a safe way of storing it has to be found the neat layers of clay hundreds of meters thick and the engineers are building storage chambers that will need to remain dry long term. The Radioactive Material that will be stored here is low to intermediate level waste much of it is rubble from disassembled Nuclear Power plants the waste containers will be stored in chambers like these and sealed off with cement the big danger is rain or groundwater entering the chambers so that radioactivity leeches out and contaminates the soil. Thats its easier to get safeguarded by barriers the main barrier is a dense thick layer of clay that lies over the top of this mine what does it hold back your head it prevents the groundwater from entering the mine or contaminants from the mine seeping into the groundwater it keeps them separate and thus. The site has to be completed by 2027. Tunnelling machines or through the earth there are expansion joints overhead because the rock is moving. In congress enough the joints allow a little bit of give they let things move a bit to stabilize the situation this is the principle of underground cavity mining we spray here and anchor it down there. Underground its 30 degrees celsius shut created or sprayed concrete is used to line the tunnels the repository is expected to cost 4200000000. 00 euros 60 percent of it is financed by the Nuclear Industry and the rest by the german taxpayer all of this is just for low and medium level waste it will be even more difficult for lunch to find a site where highly radioactive fuel rods from Nuclear Power plants can be stored. Finland is far ahead of the theyve decided on a location for a repository to be operational and 3 to 4 years theyre building a final Storage Facility for high level. Based. It seems incredible that only one country should have a final repository for spent fuel rods in view of the 450. 00 Nuclear Power plants worldwide. Back above ground this former iron ore mine is unsuitable for high level radioactive waste for that another location has to be found. Which is familiar with the repository in finland its almost finished and should be filled within the next few years its a huge challenge in a Storage Facility be made safe for a 1000000 years because only then will the radioactivity from the high level waste have to cater to acceptable values. Which is supposed to come up with a site in germany comparable to the finnish one. It will have to be earthquake proof and it must be possible to retrieve the waste at any time. In the form to come you can only look forward when you understand whats behind you here in the conrad mine weve just been in a deep deposit over 150000000 years old its been there so long so if you can look back 150000000 years you can imagine 1000000 years from now and thats when i knew nothing of. Germany is set to close all of its Nuclear Plants by 2022 and then as the country shifts to renewables it will have 10 years to find the right location for the final disposal of its high level radioactive waste. Reprocessing waste is one of the most dangerous aspects of using to fear energy thats whats done in facilities like the law ugh nuclear recycling and reprocessing plant in france its been around for 50 years and has seen its share of dangerous incidents and there are also claims that the fight regularly contaminates local groundwater its a Risky Business a profitable. Nuclear fuel has to be kept cool in pools and kept in special containers because its still highly radioactive it either has to be stored somewhere safe for all eternity processed and recycled thats what goes on at the nuclear recycling and reprocessing plant. Its on the northwest coast of france 3000 people work here its one of just 3 facilities like this in the world. And the other engineers process 1200. 00 tons of spent fuel rods a year. This is where theyre 1st taken apart. The plant turns a profit business is good and is even growing again. Countries such as china want to build more Nuclear Power plants. Are major player in the industry the United States and japan also want new plants despite the disaster at fukushima many countries are keen on nuclear. Spent 3 years in these pools to cool off they come from power plants in france and. Mechanically. Were not allowed to film and the part of the facility where the actual reprocessing goes on that reprocessing results in 3 products that the customers have to buy back 4 percent is highly radioactive waste thats melted into a class like this it will end up in long term storage in a secure facility. One percent is plutonium which can be used in power plants to make nuclear weapons. 95 percent is uranium it can also be used in power plants but 1st has to be enriched. 10 percent of france. The gene is generated using the uranium that we recycle here. But environmentalist particularly greenpeace point out the last august polluting the environment about a 1000000 liters of radioactive waste is discharged into the English Channel every day. Dilution makes it less hazardous the operator of the ag says the radiation remains well within the legal limits. But people here are nonetheless worried they fear that by eating fish and seafood from local waters there ingesting radioactive substances but i dont think radiation is good for animals or for humans. We have to give up Nuclear Power i realize that will take time but theyve been dragging their feet for ages all of a city stronger. We need alternative Energy Sources so we can eventually replace Nuclear Power. But right now we simply dont have them in france the germans are way ahead of us you are doing much better than we are who put new should know. About 3 quarters of france electricity comes from Nuclear Power plants and Nuclear Power will remain a dominant part of the energy mix for decades that means minimizing radioactive emissions that will need to remain a priority. One thing is clear we need to find solutions that will meet energy needs but also keep emissions dealt those Nuclear Power have a future what do you think if youre one of those people who thinks that doesnt this should interest you carry cells and rollercoasters aside thats now all about fun and games protests kept this Nuclear Plant which was completed in germany in the 1980s from ever going online since then its been turned into a fun park. Looks like a great way to spend an afternoon thats it for today from me and the whole team here on me here again next week. Growing up. Remaining a child forever theres no doubt in his mind. The 35 year old child. Hes conspicuous and has trouble fitting in but hes not going to be ignored to. Life with autism. So shed have to get through the bundesliga break without football thanks again. To the women to come in from. Weeks of excitement emotion not something. That sways 90 lims. The goals of the results here on t. W. The. 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