On 25 April 2017, the operator responsibilities for the Asse II mine as well as the Konrad and Morsleben repositories were transferred to the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH, BGE). This website of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) will therefore no longer be updated and displays the status as on 24 April 2017. You will find current information at the BGE: www.bge.de

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What is Asse?

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Structure and task of the Asse-GmbH

With the responsibility as the operator of the Asse II mine, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) also took over 255 employees of the mine on 1 January 2009. Right from the start, this has been a clear requirement of the Federal Cabinet and a wish of the BfS. To make this possible, a special operating company, the Asse GmbH – Gesellschaft für Betriebsführung und Schließung der Schachtanlage Asse II (Company for the operation and decommissioning off the Asse mine) was founded. Thus, the Asse mine employees were provided with a professional perspective and it was possible to maintain their valuable knowledge of the mine. Key delivery agents and executive positions were newly staffed by the BfS when it took over the Asse mine.

As operating company, the Asse-GmbH is competent for all operational work inside the mine. The federal government is the 100-per-cent owner of the mine. The Asse-GmbH implements the measures prescribed by the BfS. These measures mainly concern the mine's stability. The Asse-GmbH will also be competent for the implementation of the decommissioning works and, until then, will ensure that the mine’s operation will be in accordance with the requirements under nuclear law. The Asse-GmbH has 458 staff members (as of February 2016).

The information board at the entrance of the shaft depicts a map of the site. Information boardThe information board at the entrance to the site provides an overview of the buildings on the site

There is a clear responsibility assignment between the BfS and the Asse-GmbH:

  • The BfS is responsible for the conceptual issues, the decommissioning plans and the applications for the necessary licences. It carries out and commissions scientific studies, has compared the three decommissioning options and evaluates and implements the planning work in terms of the retrieval of the stored radioactive waste from the mine on the legal basis of the "Lex Asse" (§ 57 b AtG). Furthermore, the BfS sets out the operational framework for the safe operation and decommissioning of the mine for the Asse-GmbH.
  • The Asse-GmbH plans and manages the mine under mining aspects in accordance with the directives given by the BfS. Key tasks are the operation keeping the mine open and decommissioning it. This includes the implementation of stabilisation measures (such as backfilling of roof clefts), the planning and implementation of precautionary measures in the event of an emergency and the preparation of decommissioning through retrieval (such as implementation of fact-finding and the works for the recovery shaft (shaft 5)).

further information (in German only)

State of 2017.02.22

Transfer of operator responsibilities

On 25 April 2017, the operator responsibilities for the Asse II mine as well as the Konrad and Morsleben repositories were transferred to the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH, BGE). Previously, the responsibility for the projects was with the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The foundations for the change of operatorship are laid down in the "Act on the Realignment of the Organisational Structures in the Field of Radioactive Waste Disposal", which became effective on 30 July 2016. The BfS focusses on the federal tasks of radiation protection, for example in the field of defence against nuclear hazards, medical research, mobile communication, UV protection or the measuring networks for environmental radioactivity.

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