BASE President: Responsibility for nuclear safety lies with the Federal Government

Wolfram König, President of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management Source: BASE

In accordance with the German constitution, the responsibility for nuclear safety lies with the federal government - the Bundestag and all federal states, including Bavaria, have agreed to phase out nuclear energy. The ‘special path’ now requested by Bavaria therefore contravenes current law, emphasises BASE President Wolfram König in a statement on the current debate.

"The demand made by the Bavarian Prime Minister today underlines just how important it is that the political responsibility for nuclear safety in Germany lies with the federal government in accordance with the Basic Law. The potential dangers posed by the operation of nuclear power plants and their legacy in the form of high-level radioactive waste require the assumption of responsibility far beyond legislative periods. This must never be subordinated to day-to-day political considerations at any time.

No technology makes final disposal of radioactive waste superfluous

The fact is that there is not yet a technology, even on a laboratory scale, that could make the final disposal of radioactive waste superfluous. What's more, anyone who talks about making nuclear waste usable is calling for nothing other than entering into the risks of nuclear reprocessing, once planned in Wackersdorf.

The Bundestag and all the federal states, including Bavaria, have not only agreed to phase out nuclear energy, but also initiated the search for a final repository site based on scientific criteria. The special path Bavaria has now requested contravenes applicable law, jeopardises the search for a final repository site, and does not contribute to solving the existing waste problems - not even for the sites of the interim waste storage facilities at the Bavarian nuclear power plants."