Mecsek hills could be suitable site for nuclear waste depository, says expert

(MTI) – Drill tests in the western Mecsek hills in the south of Hungary suggest that the area could be suitable for building a depository for highly radioactive waste, the head of radioactive waste manager RHK Nonprofit said on Saturday.

Ferenc Kereki said that clay samples from two drills — one going as deep as 914 metres — showed that the impermeability of the soil was adequate. Kereki stressed that the tests were in a preliminary phase, aimed at ascertaining that a nuclear waste depository could be built in the area. He added that the facility would not be needed before the second half of the century.

Kereki said that the planned depository would store highly active radioactive waste generated in Hungary, including used fuel rods from the Paks nuclear plant. Those fuel rods, however, can be safely stored at a temporary facility at the plant “for many decades to come”, the expert added.

Photo: Daily News Hungary

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters