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

Participation of citizens

The plan-approval procedure

According to nuclear law, a plan-approval procedure has to be carried out for the decommissioning of the Asse mine. At the end of this procedure a plan-approval decision is made. This decision must approve the concrete measures (and thus the selected decommissioning option) required for the safe decommissioning.

Conduct of the plan-approval procedure

The Lower Saxon Environment Ministry (NMU) as the licensing authority examines in the plan-approval procedure whether the plan for the closure of the repository complies with all safety requirements. At the same time, the general public is given the possibility to read up on the issue and to articulate concerns or make suggestions in the licensing procedure.

Objections raised in time by the citizens affected by the decommissioning and the statements of the involved authorities are jointly discussed in a public hearing. Subsequently, the Lower Saxony Environment Ministry decides about the approval of the plan.

Preparatory licensing procedure for the handling of radioactive material

The plan-approval procedure solely regulates the final decommissioning. The necessary handling of radioactive material according to § 7 Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV) or, respectively, the handling of nuclear fuels according to § 9 Atomic Energy Act (AtG) is examined and approved in the preparatory licensing procedure.

The concrete works for the fact-finding are not part of the plan-approval procedure. The necessary handling of the waste stored in the Asse mine would also be examined and approved in the preparatory licensing procedure, should the retrieval of the waste prove to be feasible and radiologically justifiable in the course of the fact-finding.

State of 2016.11.30

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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