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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Safety

Safety analyses for the Konrad mine

  • Comprehensive safety considerations have been made for the Konrad repository in the scope of the plan-approval procedure.
  • They determine requirements for the technical systems and components, operational procedures and the waste packages to be disposed of, and they are binding in order to guarantee safe operation and to minimise possible effects.
  • Before the Konrad mine will be taken into operation as a repository for low-level and intermediate-level radioactive wastes, the safety standard of the facility will be verified once again according to the state of the art of science and technology.

The protection of man and environment is of highest priority. For this reason, comprehensive safety considerations have been made in the scope of the plan-approval procedure for the Konrad repository.

These safety analyses determine requirements to the technical systems and components, the operating procedures and the waste packages to be disposed of. They are binding in order to guarantee safe operation and to minimise possible consequences. Furthermore, it was investigated in long-term safety analyses how the repository could develop after it has been sealed and possible consequences were derived.

Examination of the analyses by experts

By means of model calculations, the most different operating conditions and possible consequences were run through and evaluated. All safety analyses were examined by experts on behalf of the Lower Saxon Environment Ministry. Compliance with specifications is controlled by the Repository Surveillance unit, the Lower Saxon Environment Ministry and the responsible state mining authority.

Analysis of possible incidents

In addition to the safety analysis of normal operation, accidents were analysed. That means, events in the planned operating procedures which might lead to a release of radioactive substances into the environment were identified and evaluated. Technical or human failure and rock-mechanical causes can be the reason for such accidents. In that context, the Lower Saxon Environment Ministry stated that the Konrad repository was designed in a manner that is balanced from the safety point of view. Precaution required according to the state of the art of science and technology has been taken against damage.

Long-term safety analysis

The objective of disposal is to safely and permanently enclose the radioactive waste in deep geological formations. To furnish evidence that this objective will be achieved, the long-term development of the Konrad repository was forecast with the help of geo-scientific methods. In model calculations, the dispersion of radionuclides from the repository up into the groundwater near the surface was examined and evaluated.

Contamination of groundwater in 300,000 years at the earliest

The model calculations show that it would take radionuclides at least 300,000 years to get into the groundwater near the surface. The transport of long-lived radionuclides with a higher retention level in the geosphere takes a lot longer. For these, the model calculations show relevant concentrations only after several million years.

Fossil waters Fossil watersModel calculation: Fossil waters could migrate at the earth’s surface after 300,000 years at the earliest

Exposure far below limit values

The calculated maximum radionuclide concentrations that may occur in the groundwater near the surface have been taken as a basis for the determination of the radiation exposure in the biosphere. For an infant, the effective dose calculated according to the provisions set out in the Radiation Protection Ordinance is max. 0.26 millisieverts per year; for an adult it is max. 0.06 millisieverts per year. It is thus lower than the value of 0.3 millisieverts per year, this value having been applied for evaluation by the licensing authority.

No risk for man and environment

Altogether, the possible impact on the near-surface groundwater through the release of radionuclides and other pollutants from the repository is so low that no adverse effects to man and environment need to be feared.

New safety check prior to taking the repository into operation

Before the Konrad mine will be taken into operation as a repository for low-level and intermediate-level radioactive wastes, the safety standard of the facility will, however, be verified once again according to the state of the art of science and technology.

This is congruent with the identity and values of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), for which safety comes first regarding the construction of the Konrad repository. Furthermore, it is legally required to check on a regular basis whether the repository meets all safety requirements in the way it has been designed and to see the further development of the state of the art of science and technology. Preparations for the safety check in the BfS started already in 2014 and will probably continue for several years.

State of 2015.08.12

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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