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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Projekt Konrad

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The image depicts a roadheader inside the emplacement chamber

Konrad Repository Completion of emplacement chambers

With the driving of the last out of six emplacement chambers, the first partial field 5/1 for the emplacement of low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste was completed on 30 June 2016. In the course of the work already existing workings of the emplacement field were extended and new areas were created. Emplacement field 5 consists of two parts. It is planned to store 63,000 cubic metres of radioactive waste in partial field 5/1. Until the emplacement chambers will be taken into operation, among others connections with the air collection roadways must be established for ventilation purposes.

more2016.08.01
Mobile driller boring holes for fixing strata bolts in preparation for the storage roadway

Konrad Repository Questions on the KONRAD repository concept

Does the Konrad mine licensed in 2002 still represent the state of the art of science and technology? What kind of radioactive waste storage do experts recommend: retrievable, recoverable or non-retrievable? Why should radioactive waste be disposed of in the first place? These and other questions go along with the conversion of the Konrad mine into a repository. The BfS deals with some of the frequently addressed aspects in more detail.

more2016.02.05
Surface facilities at Konrad Shaft 2

Konrad has passed the repository stress test

On 11 March 2011, the earthquake near the Japanese coast and the resulting flooding caused by a tsunami have led to serious damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. As a result, a nuclear disaster occurred. Based on a stress test, facilities and installations for spent fuel element and radioactive waste management in Germany were now checked in terms of safety in case of a disaster. The future Konrad repository has passed the stress test.

more2014.05.16
Beginning to reforest the arable area near Salzgitter-Üfingen in calender week 46

Compensation and replacement measures for the construction of the Konrad repository

As compensation for the development of green space in the scope of constructing the Konrad repository, the nuclear licence (plan-approval decision) issued by the Lower Saxon Environment Ministry provides for the implementation of several compensation and replacement measures. The first measure will be to convert an arable area to the north of Salzgitter-Üfingen to grassland and to reforest part of it.

more2013.09.04
An employee prepares sampling of crop

Measurements prove: No enhanced radioactivity level in foods produced near the Konrad mine

Farmers in the catchment area of the Konrad mine are concerned about the possible radiological contamination of their agricultural products. Therefore, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection has installed additional environmental monitoring equipment for the Konrad mine already before the mine is into operation as a repository. The data for 2012 is now available. Result: The concentrations of relevant radionuclides in the food samples are far below the limit values.

more2013.04.18
Driving of a gallery

How long does it take to convert the Konrad mine into a repository?

The construction and operation of the Konrad repository was licensed in 2002 by the Lower Saxon Environment Ministry, following a plan-approval procedure having lasted twenty years. On 26 March 2007, the licence for Konrad was also confirmed by the Federal Administrative Court.

more2013.04.17
A waste container is being filled with concrete

Transports of radioactive waste to the Konrad repository

The public are concerned about future transports of radioactive waste to the Konrad repository. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) as the operator of the repository takes the public concerns seriously and contributes to ensuring the safety of the transport at all times. Irrespective of the fact that the BfS neither carries out nor licenses transports, the BfS is committed to examining and evaluating possible risks and uncertainties. While responsibility for the transports is with the waste producer, the licensing and supervision of the transports is done by the competent federal state authorities.

more2013.04.16
Fence at the Konrad 1 site. Its design is specified in the plan approval order

Konrad 1: Why a new fence is being erected.

Those who take a walk near the Konrad 1 site these days will notice that a new fence is being erected around the plant, which is more sophisticated than the older one. The reason for this is the application of existing law.

more2013.01.28
A wet place underground. The deep water originates from the time many million years ago when the geological layers deposited

Konrad is not comparable with Asse

As to a report stating that allegedly more water flows into Konrad than it does into Asse, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection gives the following statement:

more2012.06.15
A staff takes a soil sample

Additional program started for environmental monitoring near Konrad

It will take some years for the Konrad repository to be taken into operation. According to legal requirements, the vicinity of Konrad needs to be monitored two years before the first radioactive waste will reach the repository. Despite of that, the BfS has taken up environmental monitoring of Konrad’s vicinity much earlier and has even extended the monitoring upon request of the Lower Saxon Farmers’ Association.

more2012.02.10

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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