In the Asse salt mine near Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony, more than 126,000 drums containing low- and medium-level radioactive waste have been stored underground since 1967. These drums are located between 511 and 750 meters below the surface in 13 separate chambers. The waste was placed in the mine over eleven years, from 1967 to 1978, across three different levels. Collectively, the drums occupy about 47,000 cubic meters, which is equivalent to nearly 19 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The mine is considered structurally unstable, and Germany has aimed to retrieve the waste under the Lex Asse law passed by the Bundestag in 2013. However, despite the law, no drums have been retrieved in the 13 years since the plan was approved. The retrieval operation is managed by the public entity BGE (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung), based in Peine. In 2020, BGE estimated the cost of preparing for the retrieval to be more than 3 billion euros—before even the first drum is removed. According to the Wolfenbüttel district’s advisory commission, most of the low-level waste is stored at the 725- and 750-meter levels, while the medium-level waste is located in chamber 8a at the 511-meter level. BGE has developed two parallel plans, one for each waste category, and presented its retrieval strategy to the public in March 2020. However, recent reports indicate that the mine is experiencing significant instability, including an "intense" inflow of salt water at the 658-meter level, which is between the 511-meter and 725-meter levels where the drums are stored. In its July 2025 monthly report, BGE reported that about 8 cubic meters of salt water flowed into the mine per day during the first week of monitoring—equivalent to filling 50 bathtubs. However, no information was provided on how this flow has changed since then. The mine’s instability has made the retrieval effort more complex and time-consuming, with each year of delay adding to the challenges. Originally, the retrieval was scheduled to begin in 2033, but BGE has stated that this timeline cannot be met. No new start date has been set, though the construction of a new shaft, Asse 5, is planned for 2039. This would take 13 years from the current date. Once the drums are retrieved, they will need to be processed and stored on the surface, which requires dedicated facilities. However, a participant in a public consultation on the national radioactive waste management program noted that BGE has not yet acquired the land for its planned surface storage site, Kuhlager. This statement was made by a consultation participant, not by BGE itself. Lower Saxony’s Environment Minister, Christian Meyer (Greens), expressed frustration over the lack of progress, noting that the retrieval, which was voted for by the Bundestag, now appears to be indefinitely delayed. A BGE spokesperson explained that no new start date could be reliably announced due to the many uncertainties involved. The impact of the delayed schedule on the 3 billion euro cost estimate remains unclear. By 2039, the drums will have been underground for 72 years, and the 13 chambers will still need to be emptied.