Slideshow: German police clash with nuclear train protesters

Merkel’s decision to extend the lifespan of nuclear facilities in Germany by about 12 years sparked greater interest in the country’s anti-nuclear movement.

OVER 200 ACTIVISTS ATTEMPTING TO BLOCK the route of a train carrying nuclear waste into Germany have clashed with police along the railway line.

Fireworks were thrown at officers and one police vehicle was set on fire, according to the BBC.

Police used batons, tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons to try to break up the crowd.

Der Spiegel reports that the nuclear waste site has been the source of controversy for 30 years. Today’s clashes follow yesterday’s peaceful protests at the site. Over 30,000 people were expected to protest yesterday.

The train carrying 123 tonnes of nuclear waste is travelling from France to Gorleben, a former salt mine in northern Germany. The site was selected as a temporary waste site in 1979.

Slideshow: German police clash with nuclear train protesters

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Germany Nuclear Waste
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Germany Nuclear Protest

Research into the creation of a permanent storage facility at Gorleben is underway after a 10-year break.

Chancellor Angela Merkel recently announced that the average lifespan of Germany’s nuclear reactors would be extended by 12 years, encouraging greater interest in the nation’s anti-nuclear movement, according to Der Spiegel. The extension means an extra 17,200 tonnes of radioactive waste will be produced by 2040.

One critic told Al Jazeera that despite the containers being used to transport the waste being the best available, experts are never 100% of their containment:

A policeman stops an anti-nuclear activist dressed as a clown during clashes near Leitstade, northern Germany, on Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. Jens Meyer/AP/Press Association Images

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