A milestone in dismantling
On 16.08.2024 at 19:55, the time had come: the two cooling towers at the Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant (KKG) were blown up. With 1,340 electronic detonators and 260 kg of explosives, the two 143-metre-high towers went down within 30 seconds in a long-lasting cloud of dust. Around 55,000 tons of rubble were produced.
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On the day of the demolition, I was live on site for E.ON and PreussenElektra to capture this historic event in photographs. It was a hot day - unspeakably hot - and the waiting time seemed endless. A protest action prolonged the event even further, and at times it was uncertain whether the blasting would even take place as planned. But just under an hour before the planned demolition, the relieving moment arrived: the blast was successfully carried out. The towers fell with two thunderous explosions and the long preparations had finally paid off.
For me personally, these towers always had a special meaning. For years, they were my favorite photo motif at the power plant. For over a decade, I had the privilege of documenting them extensively - and once even climbed one of them. This memory will stay with me for the rest of my life.
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Source text: preussenelektra.de