Worldwide, 439 nuclear power plants are currently in operation and 52 are under construction. At the end of the fuel cycle, all of them produce highly radioactive materials in the form of fission products and transuranics. Such waste must be separated during operation and subsequently during dismantling and stored until its radioactivity has decayed sufficiently. All steps from the transfer of spent nuclear fuel rods to their final disposal must be performed in such a way that radioactivity remains contained and nuclear radiation is shielded. It must be ensured that the exposure of the population as a whole, and especially in the vicinity of nuclear facilities and future repositories, remains below strict, legally defined limits.

For decades, there have been arguments in Germany against the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Since the 2011 phase-out, opponents have felt vindicated. Protests against final repositories have been going on for just as long. Under such conditions, the search for, construction and thousands of years of operation of a repository are highly problematic. Instead of physical-technical, geological, economic and other social criteria, political and above all "alternative facts" will determine the discussion.