Castor Casks Sent to Gorleben Not Tested

["Greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

CASTOR CASKS SENT TO GORLEBEN NOT TESTED - REAL RISK OF RELEASE
OF RADIOACTIVITY IN THE EVENT OF ACCIDENTS 
 
Hanover/Hamburg, 11.02.97: The Castor casks for the imminent 
transport of nuclear waste to  the interim storage facility at 
Gorleben in Lower Saxony have not been subjected to any  
practical tests. This means that there are intolerable risks 
that radioactivity will be released into  the atmosphere in the 
event of possible road, ship or rail accidents. This is the 
result of a new  expertise commissioned by Greenpeace and 
presented by the independent environment  institute, Gruppe 
Oekologie, in Hanover. 
 
The derailment of three special casks similar to the Castor and 
containing German nuclear  waste during rail transport a week 
ago showed the real risk involved in the event of a transport  
accident. Yet no tests have been made to demonstrate the 
reliability in the event of a serious  accident of the three 
casks of the CASTOR V/19 type to be used for the Gorleben 
transport at  the beginning of March. Nevertheless, the 
Ministry for the Environment in Bonn claims in its  official 
brochure that "extensive tests are carried out prior to 
official approval of any cask  type."
 
According to the Greenpeace expertise this claim is incorrect. 
Here it is pointed out that tests  were only performed on 
scaled-down Castor models with completely different geometric  
designs. In addition, the simulations and calculations were 
effected on the basis of test results  for other Castor types, 
performed between 1978 and 1982. Original CASTOR V/19 casks 
have  been tested neither mechanically in drop tests, nor 
thermally in fires, nor even as models or  prototypes. The 
requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 
to be  fulfilled with regard to the safety of the Castor casks 
are not fulfilled by the stringing together  of partial tests 
and simulations performed on other cask types for the V/19 
cask.
 
Says Greenpeace atomic expert Helmut Hirsch, "Not one Castor 
cask of the V/19 type has  ever been subjected to practical 
tests. Today no car is given official registration unless it 
has  been put through crash tests. Yet this nuclear waste is 
being sent off in an untested transport  cask. A serious 
accident can have unforeseeable consequences. Ms. Merkel, as 
the highest  official responsible for radiological protection, 
must cancel the transports for this reason alone.  The Federal 
Minister for the Environment, however, seems to put more trust 
in questionable  simulations than in real tests."
 
Furthermore, the requirements to be fulfilled by Castor tests 
as laid down by the International  Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 
which have been included in German transport law for the  
transport of dangerous goods, stipulate that the casks must be 
able to withstand a drop of nine  metres (the equivalent of an 
impact speed of 50 km/h) and a half-hour fire at 800 degrees  
undamaged. In real accident situations, however, greater impact 
speeds and longer-lasting fires  at higher temperatures are 
possible. This shows that even the test requirements of the 
IAEA are far from adequate. On the basis of the evidence 
presented for the safety of the Castor V/19, a failure of the 
cask in  serious accidents resulting in the release of 
radioactivity cannot be ruled out.
 
For further information contact: Greenpeace nuclear expert Dr. 
Helmut Hirsch/Tel. 0172- 2411263 or Greenpeace - Press Officer, 
Rdiger Rosenthal/Tel. 040-30618-342/352. 
Greenpeace on the Internet: http://www.greenpeace.de