In 2012, the consultations concentrate on the following:

Safety requirements governing the final disposal of heat-generating radioactive waste

As a follow-up to the ESK statement on the BMU draft for safety requirements governing the final disposal of heat-generating radioactive waste of 29.01.2009 [171 KB] (in German) and to the publication of the safety requirements governing the final disposal of heat-generating radioactive waste of 30.09.2010 by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU“, the ESK Committee EL consults on issues and questions related to these safety requirements.

On the one hand, the Committee develops guidelines for the specification of the safety requirements. These are a guideline on human intrusion into a repository,a guideline on the classification of developments according to probability classes, and

a guideline on the dimensioning of the isolating rock zone.

Further, it is planned to develop a guideline for the safe operation of the repository, including accident management, in collaboration with members of the Committee on WASTE CONDITIONING, TRANSPORT AND INTERIM STORAGE (AZ).

On the other hand, the Committee EL deals, supported by representatives of the Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK), with the simplified long-term radiological statement according to Chapter 7.2.2 in the above-mentioned safety requirements. The simplified radiological statement is based on a fictional approach: All the radionuclides that have escaped from the isolating rock zone in a year is contained in a fictional well that serves to meet the entire annual water requirement (including animal watering, crop irrigation, and drinking water) of a reference group of 10 persons.

The Committee deals with the conservatism of this abstract model, its ease of use, its relevance with regard to the requirements for the isolating rock zone (e. g. insignificance of releases from the isolating rock zone, and integrity of the isolating rock zone) and its relation to the detailed radiological long-term safety case which also considers the safety functions of the adjoining rock and the overburden.


Morsleben Repository for Radioactive Waste (ERAM)

Upon request of the BMU, the Committee has already been dealing with the closure of the ERAM since 2009. It was informed by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) on the closure concept applied for and the long-term safety case based on it, and has compiled its questions raised in this regard, which were then answered by the BfS within the framework of a visit of the ERAM. The Committee gathered information on the plan approval procedure and the related documents put forward by the BfS, and dealt with the evaluation criteria to be applied as a preparatory step.

With letter of 12.06.2011, the Committee received a written request for advice of the BMU. For the prepration of a draft statement, the Committee has set up an ad hoc working group.


Asse II mine

The ESK Committee EL regularly gathers information about new findings, conclusions, approaches and the next steps in the Asse II mine, and about the progress regarding the construction and commissioning of the Konrad repository.


Research activities and promotion concepts in Germany in the field of final disposal

With letter of 25.07.2011, the ESK received a request for advice of the BMU on the research need for Gorleben exploration and search for another site. The ESK then gathered information about the Gorleben exploration and investigation programme, about the R&D need regarding the preliminary Gorleben safety analysis (VSG), about the research programme of the BfS, about research activities of the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) on alternative host rocks, and about national and international research activities in the field of disposal.

Meanwhile, the third question in the request for advice has gained importance, since it is foreseeable that alternative sites are to be explored for their suitability as a repository. It reads:What research projects must be initiated from today's perspective, so that in future alternative host rocks can be identified efficiently and explored, assessed and compared with regard to their suitability as a disposal medium?For the preparation of a statement, the Committee has set up an ad hoc working group.