Germany has begun a controversial series of nuclear waste transports in North Rhine-Westphalia, with the first convoy carrying a Castor container leaving an ex research reactor site in Jülich and reaching an interim storage facility in Ahaus. This is the first of 152 planned transports involving radioactive waste. The transport, escorted by heavy police presence, took place around four hours after departure. The total of about 300,000 fuel element spheres from the decommissioned Jüche reactor are to be relocated over an extended period. The transfers follow court rulings allowing the shipments to proceed. The country has no permanent storage facility for the radioactive waste, with 16 interim storage facilities.