Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Germany's Environment Ministry is considering digging up radioactive waste, rather than leaving it buried for ever, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing a government document.

Storage sites would need to be labeled and accessible for 1,000 years, so that future generations can retrieve the waste to neutralize or employ it as an energy source, the Frankfurt-based newspaper said, citing the document.

Maintaining the option of retrieval after 500 years will mean ``large'' costs and raise safety concerns, Frankfurter Allgemeine reported.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt at ncomfort1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 20, 2008 03:31 EDT