Gundremmingen cooling towers blown up – nuclear waste remains a problem!

Gundremmingen cooling towers blown up – nuclear waste remains a problem!

On October 25, 2025, the cooling towers of the former Gundremmingen nuclear power plant were demolished using explosives. The controlled demolition, carried out by specialists from a German demolition company, lasted around 45 seconds. The two cooling towers, which were built between 1977 and 1980 and were each 160 meters high, collapsed vertically and were watched by around 30,000 spectators, despite rainy weather. With around 600 kilograms of explosives distributed over 1,800 boreholes, the dismantling of the nuclear power plant, which is considered one of the largest nuclear sites in Germany, continued. Tagesschau reports that the cooling towers did not come into contact with radioactivity during their operational phase.

The blowing up of the cooling towers is part of the planned dismantling of the nuclear power plant. Block C was decommissioned in 2021, after Block B was decommissioned in 2017. Overall, the dismantling should be completed by the 2030s. During its operational period from 1984, the plant produced around 20 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually, thus contributing to a quarter of Bavaria's electricity generation.

Nuclear waste problem in Gundremmingen

Despite the significant progress in dismantling, the unresolved nuclear waste problems in Gundremmingen remain. Even though the cooling towers are no longer standing, the nuclear waste continues to be stored in interim storage facilities that are criticized as inadequate in terms of protection from dangerous contents. According to [ÖkoNews](https://www2.oekonews.at/akw-gundremmingen-kuehltuerme-ge Sprengt-atommuellproblems-halten+2400+1230496), these interim storage facilities do not have sufficient repair options for damaged storage containers, also known as castors. A targeted attack on the camps could have devastating consequences for people and the environment.

Helge Bauer from the anti-nuclear organization underlines the symbolic nature of the blowing up of the cooling tower in the context of the dismantling of nuclear power plants in Germany. He calls for a comprehensive storage concept that takes into account interim storage over a period of up to 100 years. This means that a permanent solution for the safe storage of nuclear waste is urgently needed.

Progress in dismantling other nuclear power plants in Germany

Meanwhile, the dismantling of other nuclear power plants in Germany is making progress. According to Deutsche Wirtschaftsnachrichten, the dismantling of the Unterweser nuclear power plant will take until 2032, while other locations such as Stade and Würgassen are also in the dismantling phases. Dismantling is a complex and costly process that is estimated to cost around one billion euros for each reactor block.

Although the blowing up of the cooling towers in Gundremmingen is celebrated as part of a comprehensive dismantling, the challenge of nuclear waste remains an acute and unsolved problem that will continue to concern those responsible in the future.