(December 21, 1990) When East and West Germany united, Bonn took over responsibility for the Soviet-oriented East German nuclear industry.
(344.3444) WISE Stockholm - Problems have now arisen on responsibility for clean-up of uranium mine sites, closed power plants, and spent fuel storage. A case in point is the 45-year-old former East German uranium mine Sowjetisch-Deutsche Aktiengesellschaft Wismut. The company was a joint venture between the GDR and the Soviet Union.
Seven days after the reunion of Germany, the former GDR shareholder, former GDR Minister of Economy Mr. Haussmann, received a letter from the manager of the Soviet-German Wismut enterprise dated 10 October 1990. The letter demanded satisfactory security for a sum of 100,000 DM (approximately US $66,000). The Soviet Atomic Energy Ministry had refused to accept delivery of the November and December output of uranium, nor would they pay for it. In addition, an agreement of financial contribution from the Soviet Union was made void. Together, this has resulted in a 100 million DM (US $66 million) deficit that must be picked up by Bonn. When the Soviet design Greifswald reactors were closed, the demand for Soviet made fuel declined, and thus the need to buy uranium from Wismut. The former GDR was the third largest uranium mining nation in the world, after the USA and Canada. GDR uranium mining has long been uneconomic since the ore holds only between 0.09% and 0.1% uranium. Production cost has been about 315 DM (US $213) per kg, while the world market price is about 70 DM (US $47) per kg.
The good news is that a new Bonn-Moscow agreement has been made that will close the Wismut uranium mining operation at the end of 1990. The bad news is that the Soviet Union has relinquished its 50% share without compensation in return for no clean-up responsibility. An attempt at dealing with the massive waste problem created by the mines is estimated at up to 40 billion DM (US $27) over a 20-year period.
Source: Der Spiegel (FRG), 47/1990.
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