Nuclear waste reaches depot

An overwhelming police presence thwarted protesters

A cargo of nuclear waste has finally arrived at its destination in Germany, after running the gauntlet of protesters on the last leg of a 600km (375 mile) trip from a French reprocessing plant.

The convoy completed the last leg without being disrupted

The convoy completed the final 20km (12-mile) of its journey by road to a storage site at Gorleben in little more than an hour.

Thousands of police kitted out with night vision equipment had been deployed around the rail depot in the northern town of Dannenberg, where the cargo was transferred to lorries and along the route to Gorleben.

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The cargo had been held up at Dannenberg since Tuesday night by protesters who had chained themselves to the railway line.

During the night, riot officers fought running battles with several hundred demonstrators. They used water cannon to break up groups who had set up makeshift barricades.

It seems like a war zone

Alfred Skallweit, from the nearby town of Muetzinge

To prevent further delays, cordons of helmeted, armed officers were stationed at 50-metre intervals on either side of the road from Dannenberg to Gorleben to keep demonstrators away.

The final road stretch from the Dannenberg railhead had been the site of massive demonstrations against previous waste transports before they were banned in 1998 on safety grounds.

This was the first shipment since then.

But this time, the demonstrators did not even try to break through the ranks of riot police

'Highly dangerous'

During the final stage of the journey, police surrounded a protesters' makeshift camp and repeatedly charged the estimated 1,000 occupants.

"Everything was peaceful here until the police charged in," complained one protester, Alfred Skallweit, from the nearby town of Muetzingen. "It seems like a war zone."

Protesters were attacked with water cannon as the cargo was moved

When the convoy finally arrived at Gorleben, it was greeted with whistles by a small crowd of demonstrators.

The protesters object to what they say is highly dangerous radioactive waste being transported through Germany, and hope to make the process so costly the government will call a halt.

Spent nuclear fuel from German power plants is sent abroad for reprocessing, but the contracts oblige Germany to take back the resulting waste.

Political issue

Up to 20,000 police have been involved in the huge and costly operation, which correspondents say has been a major embarrassment for the government.

With another shipment due in November, it is now up to the politicians to decide if the cost is too high.

The nuclear fuel debate is a key political issue in Germany. More than a third of the country's electricity comes from its 19 nuclear reactors, which generate hundreds of tonnes of radioactive waste a year.

The government and the electricity industry have negotiated a deal on phasing out nuclear power.

But many members of the Green Party have been critical of the deal because it does not specify a final date for switching off the last nuclear reactor.

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