Manual on Reactor Safety and Radiation Protection

The Manual on Reactor Safety and Radiation Protection contains all the statutory and non-statutory regulations that are valid in Germany for the following areas:

nuclear safety,
disposal,
transporting radioactive substances and
protection from ionising and non-ionising radiation.

You can also find international regulations and other facts and information about nuclear technology and radiation protection in the manual.

English translations of important regulations regarding nuclear safety and radiation protection can be found in Annex A1 of the Handbook.

Disclaimer

BASE endeavours to provide up-to-date and correct information within the framework of the Reactor Safety and Radiation Protection Manual. English translations - to the extent that they are available to BASE - are provided as a courtesy. These are not official translations. BASE shall not assume any liability for these texts. There is no systematic provision of translated regulatory texts. The German versions, published on paper in the official publications of the Federal Government, are binding.

Please direct your enquiry to RSH@base.bund.de.

State of 2023.12.18

1A National legislation on nuclear safety and radiation protection

1B Other national legal provisions also to be applied in nuclear safety and radiation protection

In Chapter 1B of the Handbook national legal provisions are listed, which are also to be applied regarding nuclear safety and radiation protection. Among others, the topics environment, product safety, operational safety as well as medical devices and electromagnetic compatibility are comprised.

1C Legal provisions concerning the transport of radioactive material

The Chapter 1C of the Handbook contains rules and regulations concerning the transport of radioactive material. Beside general provisions also regulations regarding the transport by road, railway, inland waterways, air and sea are listed.

1D - Bilateral agreements in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection

Germany concluded with many countries agreements on co-operation in the area of nuclear safety and/or radiation protection. The chapter 1D - Bilateral Agreements comprises a list of the countries concerned as well as a list comprising the agreements or contracts concluded with them.

1E Multilateral agreements in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection

Chapter 1E of the Handbook comprises multilateral agreements and national executive provisions regarding nuclear safety and radiation protection. Beside general agreements also agreements regarding the topics radioactive waste, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, liability and transport are listed.

1F - Legal provisions of the European Union

Chapter 1F of the Handbook comprises legal provisions of the European Union on nuclear safety and radiation protection. Here regulations, directives, recommendations and opinions of the European Union on the topics nuclear safety, radiation protection, radioactive waste and transport of radioactive material as well as radiological emergencies can be found.

2 General administrative provisions

General administrative provisions regulate the actions of the authorities, thus only legally binding for the administration. However, they can serve as a basis for concrete administrative decisions and thereby become legally binding externally. General adminstrative provisions on nuclear safety and radiation protection are listed in Chapter 2 of the Handbook.

3 Regulatory guidelines published by BMUV

Chapter 3 of the Handbook comprises regulatory guidelines published by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz – BMUV). The promulgations describe the view of the federal supervision on general questions related to nuclear safety and serve as orientation for the Länder authorities, which execute the supervision.

4 Relevant provisions and recommendations

Chapter 4 of the Handbook comprises provisions and recommendations relevant for nuclear safety and radiation protection. Mainly, they are adopted by the Reactor Safety Commission (Reaktor-Sicherheitskommission - RSK) or by the Commission on Radiological Protection (Strahlenschutzkommission - SSK).

5 Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (KTA)

Chapter 5 of the Handbook comprises information about the German Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (Kerntechnischer Ausschuss - KTA) as well as hyperlinks to the web page and the KTA Program of Standards.

6 Important committees

Important recommendations and statements on nuclear safety, protection against ionising and non-ionising radiation as well as on nuclear waste management are established by the Reactor Safety Commission (Reaktor-Sicherheitskommission - RSK), the Commission on Radiological Protection (Strahlenschutzkommission - SSK) and the Nuclear Waste Management Commission (Entsorgungskommission - ESK). Until the year 2009, the International Committee on Nuclear Technology (Internationale Länderkommission Kerntechnik) compiled statements for the federal states Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. Additionally, international committees as the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICRP) are working in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection.

Annex to the Handbook on Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection

The Annex of the Handbook contains serveral information on the topics nuclear safety and radiation protection. Among others, here a list of available English translations of German legal provisions on nuclear safety and radiation protection can be found.

A.1 English translation of legal provisions

Annex A.1 of the Handbook comprises English translations of legal provisions on nuclear safety and radiation protection.

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