The first transport of highly radioactive nuclear waste from Jülich to the interim storage facility in Ahaus began on Tuesday evening. A heavy goods vehicle carrying a Castor container is escorted by around 2,400 police officers. Motorway sections in North Rhine-Westphalia are temporarily closed.
A heavy goods vehicle carrying a THTR/AVR-type Castor container has left the site in Jülich and is traveling along a roughly 170-kilometer route to Ahaus, as reported by dpa journalists. Authorities have not disclosed the exact route. A spokesperson for Münster police, leading the operation, announced short-term closures of motorway sections in North Rhine-Westphalia. On the A44 towards Mönchengladbach between Jülich-West and Jackerath junction, a warning appeared: a heavy transport is underway, and overtaking is not possible, according to NRW traffic ministry's Verkehr.NRW portal. The convoy includes dozens of police vehicles, with a total of 2,400 officers deployed, mainly at the start and destination. Preparations have been underway for months, supported by court decisions in January and March 2026, as well as test runs at the end of 2023. The Castor container, about 2.70 meters high and weighing around 27 tonnes, holds fuel elements from Jülich's AVR experimental reactor, which operated from 1967 to 1988. These consist of 288,161 tennis ball-sized fuel elements and 124 fuel-free graphite pebbles managed by Jülich Nuclear Waste Disposal Company (JEN). Radiation outside the container measures 0.04 microsieverts per hour, well below legal limits, JEN emphasizes. «The transports do not cause any significant additional radiation exposure for people in the vicinity,» states a JEN study. The transport permit runs until the end of August 2027, with further trips planned.
