Committee on Waste Conditioning, Transport and Interim Storage (AZ)

The “Committee on Waste Conditioning, Transport and Interim Storage” (AZ) carries out consultations on safety issues in connection with the conditioning of radioactive waste as well as the transport and storage of radioactive substances. As far as the topics are related to the dismantling of nuclear facilities, for example the decommissioning and dismantling of the Karlsruhe reprocessing plant (WAK), these are dealt with in close co-operation with the “Committee on Decommissioning” (ST).

Major topics of the Committee’s consultations in recent years have been the development and continuous updating of the guidelines for the conditioning and storage of radioactive waste with negligible heat generation, the guidelines for the dry cask storage of spent fuel and heat-generating radioactive waste as well as the guidelines for the performance of periodic safety reviews and on technical ageing management for storage facilities for spent fuel and heat-generating radioactive waste.

Another major topic of the Committee’s consultations is the Konrad repository. The Committee regularly deals with various aspects related to the provision of radioactive waste packages for disposal in the Konrad repository. In this context, the Committee, among other activities, prepared the ESK statement of 25 October 2024 “Non-availability of waste packages suitable for disposal in the Konrad Repository – Causes, consequences and recommendations”. Furthermore, the Committee regularly seeks information on the progress of the construction of the waste treatment facility and the storage facility for the radioactive waste to be retrieved from the Asse II mine.
 

Current topics of consultations

• State of preparations in providing radioactive waste packages for the Konrad repository
• Updating ESK guidelines
• Providing advice to the BMUKN on the development of rules and regulations
• Reportable events in the field of waste storage
• Requirements for disposal containers for high-level radioactive waste (jointly with the Committee on Final Disposal (EL)

>> To the agendas of the Committee on Waste Conditioning, Transport and Interim Storage (AZ)

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