Wags weigh in on Denmark’s nuclear waste debate

Engineering site asks readers to choose where to put radioactive repository

For years politicians have been discussing what should be done with Denmark’s 5,000 to 10,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste. Earlier this month, parliament decided to scrap plans to find a final repository for the waste. Local people in areas that had been shortlisted for the dump, such as Kerteminde on the island of Funen, celebrated at the news.

But parliament is still left with the task of finding an intermediate storage site, and yesterday the engineering publication Ingeniøren asked its readers to help with the decision by plotting on a map where they think the nuclear waste should go.

Capital popular choice
The map has already been populated with suggestions, some of which are more serious than others. There is a high density of pins dropped in the Copenhagen area, and a couple of them on the parliament building itself. “The area’s not used for anything useful anyway,” one of the comments reads.

Another reader singled out Christiania with the justification that “then they could contribute to society”. Some readers, presumably FC Copenhagen fans, thought that Brøndby stadium would be the best option.

But someone has come to the defence of the capital region and made the counter-suggestion of Aarhus. “There must be an artist there who can make something out of it,” the reader said.

One of the suggestions is Ølstykke, northwest of Copenhagen, with the reason: “My mother-in-law lives here.”

See the suggestions and make your own here.




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