Information about a repository

With the decision in favour of the option of retrieval the decommissioning of the Asse has entered a new phase. The public need for information and discussion is enormous. In issue 03/10 of "Asse Einblicke" ("Insights into the Asse Mine") the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) therefore reports on the current state of emergency planning and the beginning of the test phase. On a regular basis, BfS provides information about the Asse in the regions of Wolfenbüttel and Braunschweig with the brochure "Asse Einblicke" ("Insights into the Asse Mine").

Test phase (finding of facts)

With vigour, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) has been preparing the next step for retrieving the radioactive waste: the so-called finding of facts in two selected chambers. It serves to gain knowledge of the state of the emplacement chambers and the waste packages – and thus eventually clarity about the feasibility of the selected option.

In the test phase (finding of facts), the experts want to answer in particular three questions:

1. What radiation levels will the staff be exposed to while recovering the waste?
2. How long will it take to retrieve the around 126.000 drums containing radioactive and chemo-toxic waste?
3. How much of the waste can be recovered with remote-controlled machines?

Emergency planning

According to the Atomic Energy Act the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) as operator has to ensure the safe operation of the Asse mine to be able to decommission the repository methodically. An emergency would it make impossible to carry on the operation of and to decommission the mine. Therefore, too, the BfS takes precautions for reducing the risk of an uncontrollable inflow of water, so that it will be possible to retrieve the waste for as long as possible.

The current issue of "Asse Einblicke" ("Insights into the Asse Mine") informs about how the test phase is being prepared and what measures are planned in case of emergency.