German government under Kohl doctored report to downplay waste site risks

Documents recently uncovered reveal that former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl doctored a report in order to play down the risks of a proposed nuclear waste storage site in Gorleben in Lower Saxony. Der Spiegel reported this week that the Kophl government covered up warnings found in the report that radioactive material could seep into groundwater. Gorleben has been the object of frequent protests by anti-nuclear demonstrators. Last week, 50,000 people marched in Berlin against nuclear power. A similar salt-based waste dump site in Asse, Germany, a former salt mine, is the most contaminated legacy of Germany’s nuclear power industry.