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

Navigation and service

Go to:

What will become of Asse?

Safety for future generations

Fact-finding

To be able to retrieve the radioactive wastes from the Asse II mine, uncertainties and gaps in knowledge need to be eliminated for reliable planning. That is the only way to concretely approach the technical implementation.

The drilling device is set down in the work area in front of emplacement chamber 7 The drilling device is set down in the work area in front of emplacement chamber 7The drilling device is set down in the work area in front of emplacement chamber 7

Fact-finding: Creation of a data basis

The fact-finding began in 2012 by drilling measures carried out in the vicinity of emplacement chamber 7 in a depth of 750 metres. The plan was to collect the first data – for example about the state of the surrounding salt rock, the state of the waste packages, the radioactive contamination of the air inside the chamber and the emplacement chambers' stability.

Modified legal conditions

Experiences gained so far in the exploration and the time lapses in the licensing procedures have shown that these are not in conformity with the objective of retrieving the waste as soon as possible. Furthermore, the legal situation has changed since the fact-finding began. The "Lex Asse", which became effective in 2013, provides new legal options. For example, the necessary basic radiation protection considerations were already taken into account in the development of the law. Previously, the Federal Environment Ministry followed the legal position effective in 2010 and determined that a fact-finding take place before retrieval operations could start. Two chambers were to be examined on a trial basis to check the feasibility of retrieval. With the "Lex Asse" coming into force, a justification relating to single measures or decommissioning variants is no longer required.

Strategy paper evaluating the fact-finding

The BfS takes account of these modifications by basically examining and as far as possible improving the procedures. A working group established by the BfS president and consisting of experts from the BfS and the Asse-GmbH, has therefore developed a strategy paper on how to optimise the exploration programme dealing with the emplacement chambers, in order to improve the retrieval processes. The paper with the title "Evaluation of the fact-finding and the retrieval procedure" was introduced to the public on 15 April 2015.

More information (German only)

Legal background

State of 2016.09.13

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.

© Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz