Nuclear Regulatory Issues and Main Developments in Germany 15 May 2021 Contents 1. General Topics a) Organisational restructuring of nuclear waste management sector b) Establishment of the Federal Radiological Situation Centre (RLZ) c) Nuclear Power Phase Out d) Electricity Production and Nuclear Share 2. Laws and Regulations a) Matters under International Law b) National Legislation c) National Regulation and KTA safety standards d) Programme for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste e) Recommendations by RSK, ESK and SSK 3. Operation and Decommissioning of German Nuclear Power Plants a) Event Registration b) Evaluation of operating experience c) Licensing, Supervisory Issues and Decommissioning Licenses d) Safety Reviews and Peer Reviews 4. Research Reactors 5. Site Selection for Disposal of High-Level Waste 6. Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management a) Disposal Facilities and Disposal Projects for Radioactive Waste b) Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel c) Nuclear Fuel Fabrication and Reprocessing d) Transports Abbreviations ARTEMIS Integrated Review Service for Radioactive Waste and Spent Fuel Management, Decommissioning and Remediation BASE Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (former BfE) BDEW Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry BfS Federal Office for Radiation Protection BGE Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal BGZ Company for Radioactive Waste Storage BMU Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety BWR Boiling Water Reactor ENSREG European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IRRS Integrated Regulatory Review Service KTA German Nuclear Safety Standards Commission MWe Megawatt electrical power NPP Nuclear Power Plant OECD/NEA Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development / Nuclear Energy Agency PWR Pressurized Water Reactor RLZ Federal Radiological Situation Centre TWh Terawatt hour 15 May 2021 3 1. General Topics a) Organisational restructuring of nuclear waste management sector The German nuclear waste management sector was reorganised in order to efficiently select a site for a disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste. Accordingly, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (Bundesamt für kerntechnische Entsorgungssicherheit – BfE) was established in 2014 as the central licensing and supervisory authority in the field of nuclear waste management. BfE was assigned additional tasks and the organisation was set up from 2017 onwards. The BfE was renamed Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung – BASE on 01 January 2020. The English translation remains unchanged. The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH – BGE mbH) is responsible for the planning, construction, operation, and decommissioning of disposal facilities. As a so-called project delivery organisation pursuant to the Site Selection Act, the BGE mbH has the task of carrying out the site selection procedure for a disposal facility for high-level radioactive waste. BASE is supervising the site selection procedure. The Company for Radioactive Waste Storage (Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH – BGZ mbH) is responsible for the operation of the central storage facilities in Gorleben and Ahaus, for the twelve on- site storage facilities for spent fuel (not yet for the Brunsbüttel interim storage facility, for which the licensing procedure is still ongoing, see section 6 b), and for the fourteen storage facilities at twelve sites for low- and intermediate-level waste. b) Establishment of the Federal Radiological Situation Centre (RLZ) To further develop technical and organisational cooperation for coping with emergencies, the Federal Radiological Situation Centre (RLZ) was established as a new institution within the emergency preparedness and response system of the Federation. The RLZ within the BMU, as the supreme federal authority responsible for radiation protection, prepares a unique radiological situation report in the event of radiological or nuclear emergencies which may have trans-boundary or trans-regional effects within the territory of the Federal Republic, i.e. a situation report with a technically sound preparation, presentation and evaluation of the information on the type, extent and expected development of the radiological situation. In addition, the RLZ is responsible in particular for the coordination of protective measures and measurements. c) Nuclear Power Phase Out Due to the nuclear power phase out in Germany, the nuclear power plant (NPP) Philippsburg 2 lost its permission to operate on 31 December 2019. The last NPPs still in operation are to be shut down by the end of 2022 at the latest. The Atomic Energy Act stipulates the following deadlines, on which the authorisation for power operation expires: - 31 December 2021: Grohnde, Gundremmingen C, Brokdorf - 31 December 2022: Isar 2, Emsland, Neckarwestheim 2 According to the Atomic Energy Act, the authorisation for power operation of a NPP may also expire before the above-mentioned date if the respective assigned electricity volume has been generated. Electricity volumes may be transferred partially or in total from one NPP to another. Recently, the following transfers have been made: - 7 October 2020: 3.00 TWh from the Krümmel NPP to the Grohnde NPP - 3 December 2020: 1.05 TWh from the Gundremmingen B NPP to the Gundremmingen C NPP - 17 December 2020: 5.00 TWh from the Krümmel NPP to the Brokdorf NPP - 6 January 2021: 5.00 TWh from the Krümmel NPP to the Grohnde NPP - 6 January 2021: 5.00 TWh from the Krümmel NPP to the Isar 2 NPP The Atomic Energy Act requires a yearly publication of the generated, transferred and remaining electricity volumes. The status as of 31 December 2020 was published by BASE in the Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger, BAnz AT 30.03.2021 B18) on 30 March 2021 and on the BASE website: https://www.base.bund.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/BASE/DE/berichte/kt/elektrizitaetsmenge- 2020.html More information about electricity production rights can be found on the BASE website: https://www.base.bund.de/EN/ns/ni-germany/npp/operating-times/operating-times_node.html 15 May 2021 4 d) Electricity Production and Nuclear Share The gross electricity production in Germany reached 564.5 TWh in 2020 (603.5 TWh in 2019). The nuclear share of the gross electricity production in 2020 was 11.4 %, compared to 12.4 % in 2019 and 11.8 % in 2018. The shares of the different energy sources are shown in Table 1. Table 1: Gross electricity production – 2018 - 2020 [TWh] 2018 2019 2020 * TWh % TWh % TWh % Nuclear 76.0 11.8 75.1 12.4 64.3 11.4 Lignite 145.6 22.6 114.0 18.9 91.7 16.2 Hard Coal 82.6 12.8 57.5 9.5 42.5 7.5 Oil 5.2 0.8 4.8 0.8 4.2 0.7 Gas 82.5 12.8 91.0 15.1 91.6 16.2 Renewables 224.8 34.9 241.6 40.0 251.7 44.6 Others 26.8 4.2 19.5 3.2 18.3 3.2 Total 643.5 100 603.5 100 564.5 100 [Data from AGEB and BDEW, Dezember 2020] * preliminary data 2. Laws and Regulations a) Matters under International Law Germany is Contracting Party to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS). The eighth Review Meeting was planned to be held from 23 March to 3 April 2020. Due to the spread of COVID-19, it was postponed to 2021 and then decided to merge the eighth and ninth Review Meeting in one meeting in 2023. The German National Report for the 2020 Review Meeting was published on the website of BMU: http://www.bmu.de/WS4630-1 For more information, see: https://www.base.bund.de/EN/ns/safety/co-operation/cns/cns_node.html Germany is Contracting Party to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (JC). The seventh Review Meeting was planned to be held in May 2021. Due to the spread of Covid-19, it was postponed to 27 June – 8 July 2022. The National Report was published on the website of BMU: www.bmu.de/DL2577-1 b) National Legislation Numerous amendments and revisions of regulatory documents in the field of emergency preparedness and response were carried out, based in particular on the experience gained from the reactor accidents in Fukushima and the transposition of Directive 2013/59/Euratom into German law. Particularly important in this context are the Radiation Protection Act (Strahlenschutzgesetz), the Radiation Protection Ordinance (Strahlenschutzverordnung), the Emergency Dose Value Ordinance (Notfall- Dosiswerte-Verordnung), and the Nuclear Waste Disposal Ordinance (Atomrechtliche Entsorgungsverordnung). In order to further develop the safety culture, the nuclear licensing and supervisory authorities of the Federation and the Länder developed a common understanding of their safety culture and put it down in writing in a policy paper. It covers the fields of nuclear safety, nuclear security and radiation protection in nuclear installations and of nuclear fuel transports. The policy paper takes into account current international developments in this area. In particular, the principles of the OECD/NEA on safety culture in supervisory authorities published in 2016 were applied. The policy paper adopted by the Länder Committee for Nuclear Energy at its meeting on 6/7 June 2019 forms the basis for further development and concretisation of the safety culture in the individual authorities. 15 May 2021 5 c) National Regulation and KTA safety standards For information on currently valid regulatory documents see: https://www.base.bund.de/EN/bfe/laws-regulations/hns/mrs_node.html In December 2020 the German Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (Kerntechnischer Ausschuss – KTA) issued four revised KTA draft standards. The four newly issued revised KTA safety standards were: - KTA 3604 Storage, Handling and Plant-internal Transport of Radioactive Substances in Nuclear Power Plants (with the Exception of Fuel Assemblies) - KTA 3902 Design of Lifting Equipment in Nuclear Power Plants - KTA 3903 Inspection, Testing and Operation of Lifting Equipment in Nuclear Power Plants - KTA 3905 Load Attachment Points on Loads in Nuclear Power Plants The next meeting of the KTA will probably take place in November 2021 in Berlin.