German Radioactive Waste: Changes in Policy and Law

Description

This book presents the universal issue of radioactive waste management from the perspective of the German legal system, analysing how lawmakers have responded to the problem of nuclear waste over the course of the last seventy years. In this book, Robert Rybski unwraps and explains the perplexing legal and social issues related to radioactive waste. He takes readers through the entire ‘life-cycle’: from the moment that radioactive material is classified as radioactive waste, through to the period of interim storage, and right up to its final disposal. However, this last step in radioactive waste management (that of final disposal) has not yet been achieved in Germany, or anywhere in the world, and has been the subject of hefty public debate for dozens of years. As a result, the book analyses the most recent regulations in place to enable final disposal. This book will be of interest to energy policy experts, academics and professionals who work in the area of nuclear energy. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgments List of acronyms and abbreviations Glossary Introduction 1 The nuclear energy sector and its by-products 1. The concept of radioactive waste 2. Constitutional competence for the federation to act within the area of radioactive waste 3. Regulatory approach to radioactive waste in Atomic Law 4. The problem of reprocessing of spent fuel 5. Transportation of spent fuel 6. Regulation on protection against the effects of ionising radiation 7. Decommissioning and decontamination of nuclear installations 2 Storage and disposal of radioactive waste 1. The Länder’s obligation to temporarily store radioactive waste 2. Interim storage of radioactive waste on the premises of nuclear power plants 3. Assessment by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe of the constitutionality of interim storage facilities on the premises of nuclear power plants 4. Obligation of the Federation to permanently store radioactive waste 5. Regulatory framework of the liability of the Federation for the infringement of professional duties by a third party that was entrusted by the Federation with executing public tasks 6. Securing funding from radioactive waste generators for the costs of radioactive waste management and disposal 3 Selection of a proper site for final disposal of radioactive waste 1. Initial selection of Gorleben as a site for the radioactive waste disposal facility 2. Selecting a new location for a radioactive waste disposal facility 3. Lawmakers’ decision to expand list of potential sites to include Gorleben 4. Fulfilment by public authorities of their constitutional duties as a justification to adopt the Repository Site Selection Act (Standortauswahlgesetz) 5. Commission for high-level radioactive waste disposal as an institutional novelty 6. Elements of transparency pursuant to Standortauswahlgesetz 7. Final site selection in the form of enactment of a federal law dedicated to the issue 8. Way forward 4 Concluding remarks Appendix Index