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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Glossary

Englischsprachiges Glossar

Large bore holeshow / hide

Bore hole of a diameter > 65 mm, produced with a twist drill.

Latency period show / hide

Time elapsed between exposure to a causative agent (for example radiation exposure) and the appearance of a delayed response in terms of effect (for example clinically manifest cancer).

Lateral stacker truckshow / hide

Vehicle to handle the transport units between the transfer hall and the buffer hall.

LDR probeshow / hide

Probe to measure the absorption of radiation by a particular matter or by the human body, measured per kilogramme per unit of time at a particular location.

Least favourable sampling pointshow / hide

Site with the comparatively highest exposure to radiation, chosen as the location for a probe.

Leukaemia show / hide

Malignant disease of white blood cells, cause widely unknown, incidence frequency 40 - 50 cases per 1 million inhabitants. There are several types with different course of disease and different probability of recovery.

Level show / hide

A level is understood to be either the lower boundary layer (floor) of a mine opening or the totality of the mine openings mined on a level.

LHD procedureshow / hide

Term for a method of work where tractors with rubber wheels load debris at one place, haul it to a discharge point and dump it into a bunker or bin.

Lifetime risk show / hide

Lifetime risk is a concept of epidemiology meaning the probability of developing a disorder over the course of a usual lifetime.

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Light-water reactorshow / hide

Nuclear reactors using natural water H2O to brake (moderate) fast neutrons and to remove heat; as opposed to heavy-water reactors working with heavy water D2O (deuterium oxide). Depending on the type, a distinction is made between pressurised water reactors (PWR) and boiling water reactors (BWR).

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Limit valueshow / hide

Maximum value which must not be exceeded.

Line of strikeshow / hide

Direction of the intersection of a geological surface with the horizontal level, in relation to the northern direction.

Liquid scintillation countingshow / hide

Test conducted in a health physics laboratory. A liquid scintillation analyser records the radioactive decay activity; the concentration of the dissolved material is then calculated.

Liquid scintillation measurementshow / hide

Measurement taken in the radiation protection laboratory, where radioactive decays are recorded with the help of a liquid scintillation analyser and subsequently the concentration of the dissolved material is calculated.

Literature review show / hide

Comprehensive evaluation of scientific publications on a given topic

Liver cell carcinoma show / hide

Cancer of the liver cells

Loadershow / hide

A device serving to load bulk materials or soil, to transport them over a short distance and then to unload them into a reservoir or onto a truck. A distinction is made between Front loader, overhead loader, rear loader etc.

local doseshow / hide

Dose equivalent for soft tissue, measured at a certain location.

Local dose rateshow / hide

The absorption of radiation by a particular matter or by the human body, measured per kilogramme per unit of time at a particular location.

Loosely-ionising / lowLET show / hide

Loosely-ionising or densely-ionising radiation, respectively, differ from each other in the spatial distance of the ionisation processes. These are in the case of densely-ionising radiation (alpha radiation, neutrons) considerably narrower than in the case of loosely-ionising radiation (gamma radiation, X-radiation, beta radiation). A different biological effectiveness is associated with this different ionisation density.

Lost concrete shieldings (VBA)show / hide

To shield radiation, radioactive waste with higher dose rates are usually equipped with an additional housing made from concrete. Drums containing radioactive waste are emplaced together with the concrete housing and remain in the emplacement chamber. The packaging consisting of drum and concrete shielding is thus 'lost'. In the Asse II mine, altogether 14,779 waste packages with lost concrete shieldings have been stored.

Low-level measurementshow / hide

Test conducted in a health physics laboratory to evaluate carrier materials as used in the wipe test, or samples of room air and similar.

low-level radioactive wasteshow / hide

Radioactive waste not requiring additional shielding of the containers when being handled.

“Löser”show / hide

Pieces of rock which may detach from the roof of a mine opening and fall down or which have already fallen down.

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