Swiss authorities have selected a site in northern Switzerland not far from the German border to host a deep geological storage repository for radioactive waste.

After nearly 50 years of searching for the best way to store its radioactive waste, Switzerland is gearing up for what radioactive waste disposal cooperative Nagra called its “project of the century”, entailing burying spent nuclear fuel deep underground in clay.

Nagra said it had decided that the Nördlich Lägern region was the best of three sites it had been considering for the underground storage facility. The other two areas in the running were Jura Ost and Zürich Nordost, also in the north of the country.

Nagra said while the landscape at the Earth’s surface will evolve, the deep geological repository will be protected because the rock deep below the surface offers the greatest long-​term stability.