The high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plant operation is stored in mostly above-ground structures at 16 sites throughout Germany these days. The licences for these interim storage facilities were purposely limited to 40 years. The licence for the central interim storage facility at Gorleben will expire in 2034, and the on-site interim storage facilities at the individual nuclear power plants will follow in the 2040s. This means that the interim storage licences will probably expire before a final repository is commissioned. A new licence must be requested from the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management in good time. A current BASE brochure addresses questions arising from an extended interim storage period, and provides information on the evidence operators must submit to BASE.

The protection of humans and the environment is paramount in the storage of high-level radioactive materials. The brochure describes the safety requirements operators must provide evidence for. It also gives information on protecting an interim storage facility against acts of terrorism and sabotage.

The licensing requirements also include repair concepts for the casks in case leakage should be detected on a lid. There have been repeated calls for the operators to set up a so-called hot cell in this context. The brochure explains which repair options the interim storage facility operators have opted for instead.