Horny descent and super increase :-) Crisp and compact. The Asse mine is a former salt mine in Lower Saxony, which was operated as a research mine from 1965 and on which the final storage of radioactive waste was tested and practiced on a large scale between 1967 and 1978. The mine is located in the Asse mountain range of the same name, ten kilometers south-east of Wolfenbüttel. After the older of its two day shafts, sunk in 1906, the entire facility is also called Asse II. The facility has been operated since 1965 on behalf of the federal government by a research facility that was initially called the Society for Radiation Research mbH (GSF) and, after several name changes, is now known as Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU). Research work on the final disposal of radioactive waste ended in 1995. From 1995 to 2004, the remaining cavities from the former salt mining were filled. In 2007 the final closure was requested. The closure concept was politically controversial; However, the decision was made under a certain amount of time pressure, as the mining-mechanical stability of the mine workings only seemed to be secured for a few years. After press reports about radioactively contaminated brine in 2008, the operator was accused of not having sufficiently informed the supervisory authorities. This was later officially confirmed. In order to be able to close the plant appropriately in accordance with nuclear law, it is no longer operated under mining law, but since January 1, 2009 as a repository under nuclear law. Therefore, since January 1, 2009, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) has been responsible as the operator for the operation and decommissioning of the facility. Due to the change of operator, political responsibility fell from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The new operator rejected the closure concept of its predecessor, carried out a comparison of three options for dealing with the stored materials and in January 2010 presented a plan for the retrieval of the stored waste.