NUCLEAR POWER PLANT WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IN GERMANY

The shut-down of eight nuclear power plants and the phase out of the nuclear energy generation in Germany, due to a decision of the German government after the Fukushima accident, has rapidly forced the need for transportation and storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from shut-down reactors in this country. In accordance with the present strategy in Germany, which is characterized by searching for appropriate final repository areas, only the dry interim storage facilities are available for storage nuclear waste of the decommissioned plants as well as the operating plants. Therefore, the transportation and the storage casks must be available for both types of light water reactors. But for the time being this is the bottleneck. Unfortunately the prognoses are neglecting the fact, that such a high number of casks are needed in a very short space of time. This requires the acceleration of formal activeness in relation to the licenses but also an increase of the production. In the meanwhile to get this process started, the only possibility is the storage in the pools at the plant site. Anyway, for the time being, this is one of the problems for dismantling the eight plants which have been shut down due to the decision of the Government, which is now fixed in the last amended German Atomic Energy Act dated 24th of February 2012. Starting to dismantle in the radioactive regions of the plants requires empty pools. For emptying the pools of damaged SNF special procedures regarding the transportation and storage are necessary. The transportation of damaged SNF requires special casks or at least special procedures and therefore also a special licenses. This paper describes the challenge for the management in transportation and storage of SNF in Germany after the shut-down of the nuclear power plants by reason of the Fukushima accident.