As part of the German delegation, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) participated in the 67th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna from 25 to 29 September 2023. All IAEA member states meet at this conference once a year to vote on the organisation's budget and discuss issues of nuclear safety and non-proliferation, among other things. Within the framework of the bilateral and multilateral talks and negotiations, BASE provided the German delegation with specialist expertise.

BASE exhibition on challenges facing Germany after the end of nuclear power plants

On the occasion of Germany's nuclear phase-out in April 2023, BASE presented an exhibition on the outstanding tasks in the field of nuclear waste management at this year's conference. The exhibition gave delegations from all member states, staff from international organisations and groups of visitors the opportunity to learn about all aspects of nuclear waste management and to talk to BASE staff.

This year's exhibition focused not only on the current status of the repository site selection process, but also on BASE's research activities. The exhibition presented the findings of participation research, for example regarding the opportunities and challenges of digital participation formats or possible success factors for cross-border participation. In addition to many international delegates, Christian Kühn, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), also visited the BASE exhibition in Vienna.

Discussion: Challenges of novel reactor concepts

BASE also hosted a "Side Event" at this year's General Conference. An international panel of experts addressed the safety and regulatory challenges of novel reactor concepts, including so-called "Small Modular Reactors" (SMR) in a session entitled "Novel Reactor Concepts and the Future of Nuclear Waste Management".

In front of about 60 international visitors, Professor Allison Macfarlane, University of British Columbia, Vancouver/Canada, Professor M.V. Ramana, University of British Columbia, Vancouver/Canada, and Dr. Christoph Pistner, Öko-Institut, Darmstadt, explained that many of these reactor concepts are associated with additional nuclear waste, which is even more problematic in terms of safety. They stated that a scientifically sound discussion of these potentially negative effects and the associated uncertainties in the field of nuclear waste disposal had previously often been neglected in international exchanges.

Against this background, many of those present in the subsequent Q&A session welcomed BASE's initiative to start an open dialogue on this topic at the international level. The panel was moderated by Jochen Ahlswede, Head of the BASE Research/International Affairs Department.