On the article "Ball-shaped fuel elements from Jülich Research Center missing", the BfS states the following:

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) was transferred the responsibility for the Asse repository in 2009. It cannot be seen from the documents of the former Asse operator, Helmholzzentrum München (HMGU) that the 2,285 radioactive ball-shaped fuel elements from the decommissioned Jülich Test Reactor that are now missing have been stored in the Asse mine. It is not comprehensible that the operator of the Jülich facility and the federal state supervision are not in a position to provide information as to the whereabouts of the spent fuel elements (as of 3 April 2011; on 4 April 2011 the Jülich Research Center informed the BfS that the ball-shaped fuel elements had remained on the premises of the Jülich facility).

Instead of openly speculating about the possible storage of the ball-shaped fuel elements in the Asse mine, it would have been possible at all times to clarify the issue together with the BfS. Up until now, the BfS has received no such information by the federal state government, however. The federal state of North Rhine Westphalia is not only licensing and supervisory authority of the Jülich facility but also as the co-owner of the research center comprehensively involved in the responsibility for the storage of the nuclear fuels used there.

The safe closure of the Asse mine and the associated burden to the population in situ is big enough as it is. The BfS will continue to make sure that no one will try to solve other problems by making unsubstantiated assertions regarding the Asse mine.

Note:

The 2,285 ball-shaped fuel elements from the former research reactor in Jülich that have been reported missing by the North Rhine Westphalian federal government, are not stored in the Asse mine. In 1976, two drums containing ball-shaped fuel elements from the Jülich Research Center were emplaced in the mine. These were, however, intermediate-level radioactive wastes (MAW) and not high-level radioactive wastes (HAW). These drums are stored in the 511-m-deep so-called MAW chamber. The nuclear regulatory body of the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia is aware of these deliveries which have been published on the BfS homepage. These drums cannot contain the 2,285 ball-shaped fuel elements that have now been reported missing. That can be proven by the relatively low overall weight and the activity of the wastes from Jülich that have been stored, plus the fact that the delivery and the location of emplacement have been documented.

Supplement:

On 5 April 2011, the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU) as federal supervisor invited the competent nuclear regulatory body, the Ministry for the Economy, Energy, Building, Living and Traffic of the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia (MWEBWV NRW) to a talk. This talk should help clarify the whereabouts of the 2,285 ball-shaped fuel elements. The central result of the talk is that, according to the federal state nuclear regulatory body, these 2.285 ball-shaped fuel elements broke during the operation or during subsequent tests and were cast in concrete and are now stored in the research center’s interim storage facility. With this the federal state confirms the information submitted by the BfS, that the 2,285 ball-shaped fuel elements were not emplaced in the Asse mine.

As the BMU has announced, the statement of the North Rhine Westphalian nuclear regulatory body as to the whereabouts of the ball-shaped fuel elements is also backed up by the controls of Euratom (European Atomic Energy Community).