TRANSPORT AND STORAGE OF SPENT FUEL IN GERMANY - POSSIBILITIES FOR MORE SAFETY

The safe transport of spent fuel from nuclear power plants in Germany is ensured by compliance with the dangerous goods transport regulations of class 7 which are fully consistent with the IAEA Transport Regulations and in parallel with the regulations of the German Atomic Energy Act. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of this legal basis and the appropriate regulations applicable to spent fuel transport in Germany. Some aspects of the status and the future development of spent fuel shipments are described including experiences since resumption of those shipments in 2001. Furthermore, the status of licensing of on-site interim storage, assessments of an terrorist attack as well as consequences resulting from changes in energy policy are given.