Nuclear safety

In 2011, the German Bundestag decided by a large majority to phase out the use of nuclear energy for electricity generation. The last reactors were to be shut down by 31 December 2022. As a consequence of the energy crisis, the Bundestag voted on 11 November 2022 to amend the Atomic Energy Act: the three German nuclear power plants still in operation, Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland, subsequently continued operation in a so-called stretch-out mode. They were shut down on 15 April 2023. Yet, the hazards associated with the facilities will remain even after shutdown, and throughout the subsequent years of decommissioning. A high level of safety must thus be ensured for the entire period.

BASE advises the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz (BMUV)) on nuclear safety issues. For this purpose, it has built a strong network of experts in national and international committees. In addition, it accompanies research projects on nuclear safety, thus contributing to the further development of the state of the art in science and technology. The aim is to ensure that nuclear facilities and repositories are operated and decommissioned safely, and to protect people and the environment from radioactive radiation in the best possible way.

Recording of reportable events in nuclear facilities

BASE is the Federal Government’s central registration office for reportable events in nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities. For this purpose, BASE operates the so-called Incident Reporting Centre (Störfallmeldestelle). The plant operator must notify the competent authority of the respective federal state about any reportable event. This information is then forwarded to the BMUV as well as the Incident Reporting Centre at BASE and to the company GRS (Gesellschaft für Reaktorsicherheit). The objective of the official reporting procedure is to monitor the safety status of the nuclear facilities. Furthermore, findings obtained from the reported events are intended to improve the safety of the nuclear installations.

The task of the Incident Reporting Centre is to record and document all events occurring in nuclear power plants or in other nuclear facilities and to evaluate them for the BMUV. The monthly and annual reports are publicly available online.

Technical networking via national and international committees

The regular exchange of information in national and international committees is of great importance to maintain development and competence in the field of nuclear safety. Therefore, BASE is a member of various committees on nuclear safety issues at national and international level, e.g. the IAEA, the OECD/NEA, technical sub-committees of the Länder Committee on Nuclear Energy, committees of the Reactor Safety Commission (Reaktor-Sicherheitskommission (RSK)) and the Nuclear Waste Management Commission (Entsorgungskommission (ESK)), the Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (Kerntechnischer Ausschuss - KTA), etc. The main tasks of this committee work include the participation in the development of national and international nuclear regulations and standards, the exchange of operating experience and the fulfilment of international obligations.