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 will become of Asse?

Safety for future generations

Decommissioning of the Asse II mine

Why one has decided not to leave the radioactive wastes in the mine

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) as the operator of Asse needs to furnish proof that the option chosen for decommissioning does not put at risk man and environment in the area, not even in the long term. According to the present state of knowledge, this can only be achieved by retrieving the wastes from the Asse mine. That is the result of the comparison of options for the decommissioning of Asse. In 2013, retrieval was provided for in the Atomic Energy Act.

BfS President Wolfram König (right) explains to Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks (third from left) the challenges associated with the Asse project Visit of Federal Environment Minister Barbara HendricksUnderground, BfS President Wolfram König (right) explains to Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks (third from left) and the Lower Saxon Environment Minister Stefan Wenzel (second from left) the challenges associated with the Asse project

In February 2013, the Bundestag voted by a large majority in favour of recovering the wastes. Still in April the same year, the so-called "Lex Asse" became effective. The Act provides for "immediately" decommissioning the facility and recovering the wastes prior to decommissioning.

Retrieval is not an end in itself

At the beginning there were scientific investigations into the decommissioning of the Asse mine, the so-called comparison of options. The BfS had initiated this comparison in 2009 already and, in its course, arrived at the conclusion that only by way of retrieval can safety be guaranteed for the long term.

It is crucial that the legal protection goals can be guaranteed according to the state of the art of science and technology after the facility has been decommissioned. The basis for this are the Atomic Energy Act and the Radiation Protection Ordinance. At no point in time must the impact of radioactive wastes put the population and the staff at risk.

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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