National nuclear bodies

National nuclear bodies

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), BASE participates in different national bodies in the field of nuclear safety. Its main task is to contribute to the development of national nuclear regulations and standards.

BASE experts are part of the following national bodies:

Federal States Committee for Nuclear Energy

The Federal States Committee for Nuclear Energy (Länderausschuss für Atomkernenergie (LAA )) is a standing body. It consists of representatives of the nuclear licensing and supervisory authorities of the federal states and the Federal Environment Ministry. The LAA develops legal and administrative provisions as well as regulations for the consistent application of nuclear law. The LAA's Technical Committee for Reactor Safety (Fachausschuss für Reaktorsicherheit (FA RS)), which, in turn, is assisted by various working groups, e.g. the working group "Decommissioning”, deals specifically with safety in nuclear power plants.

Nuclear Safety Standards Commission

The Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (Kerntechnischer Ausschuss - KTA) prepares the so-called KTA safety standards, which contain specific, detailed requirements for the safety of nuclear installations. The Nuclear Safety Standards Commission is run by the KTA Secretariat, which is administratively assigned to BASE. The KTA safety standards are regularly reviewed in sub-committees and working groups, and revised if necessary.

Reactor Safety Commission (RSK) and Nuclear Waste Management Commission (ESK)

The Reactor Safety Commission (Reaktor-Sicherheitskommission (RSK)) and the Nuclear Waste Management Commission (Entsorgungskommission (ESK)) advise the Federal Environment Ministry on the safety of nuclear facilities and on nuclear waste management issues, respectively.
The RSK is assisted by four committees in special areas of responsibility:

• Plant and systems engineering
• Pressurised components and materials,
• Electrical installations, and
• Reactor operation.

The ESK is assisted by three committees in specific areas of responsibility:

• Conditioning, interim storage and transport of radioactive materials and waste,
• Decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear facilities and
• Disposal in deep geological formations.

Normative bodies

The influence of technological developments on the safety of nuclear can be addressed timely by developing standards. BASE supports this development by participating in various committees, sub-committees or technical committees at the German Commission for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies. Important bodies include the German Institute for Standardisation (DIN) and the Association of German Engineers (VDI).