Salty nuclear waste nightmare

It might not be haunted, but Germans are terrified of what they will find in an old mine at Asse near Hanover. The mine, which has been used to store 126,000 barrels of nuclear waste has been slowly filling up with salt water since 1988, and radioactive leaks have already been recorded. Now the Germany's Federal Office for Radiation Protection has finally admitted that structural deterioration may cause it to collapse as early as 2020, and it is recommending that all of the waste be transferred to another mine in the region. The problem is that no one really knows what condition the barrels will be in, or even exactly what they contain. Revelations that there were 28 kg of highly toxic plutonium under the tranquil hills of the region only emerged in August 2009. Deciding what to do about the problem was like "choosing between cholera and the plague," notes Frankfurter Rundschau. "The start date for the operation, which will take up to ten years and cost a minimum of two billion euros, has yet to be announced" — and the nuclear energy companies will not even be required to contribute to the budget.