To solve the still open question of high-level radioactive waste disposal, the countries having made the greatest progress in this
field usually choose to carry out comparing selection procedures including broad involvement of the public. This is a central
result of the “RepoSafe”symposium which took place from November 6 to 9, 2007, in Braunschweig. Within the scope of
this symposium, internationally leading experts, invited by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and Gesellschaft
This report describes a novel approach developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) for the estimation of the uncertainty in the prediction of the neutron multiplication factor
for spent nuclear fuel. This technique focuses on burnup credit, where credit is taken in criticality
safety analysis for the reduced reactivity of fuel irradiated in and discharged from a reactor.
Validation methods for burnup credit have attempted to separate the uncertainty associated with
The objective of this calculation is to provide the uncertainty term for fission product and minor actinides which contributes to the determination of the critical limit for burnup credit calculations. The scope of this calculation covers PWR and BWR spent nuclear fuel. This activity supports the Criticality Department's validation of burnup credit. The intended use of these results is in future Criticality Department calculations and analyses.
The Federal Government will continue to meet Germany’s existing international obligations, particularly with regard to fulfilment of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. In submitting this report, Germany is demonstrating its compliance with the Joint Convention and how it ensures the safe operation of facilities for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, including the decommissioning of nu-clear installations.
The Federal Government will continue to meet Germany’s existing international obligations, par- ticularly with regard to fulfilment of the Joint Convention. In submitting this report, the Federal Re- public of Germany is demonstrating its compliance with the Joint Convention and ensuring the safe operation of facilities for the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, including the de- commissioning of nuclear installations. At the same time, there is still a need for future action in order to maintain the required high standards of safety and ensure disposal.
There are currently nine power reactors in operation in Germany. These are exclusively light-water reactors (seven pressurised water reactors and two boiling water reactors whose fuel assemblies are composed of low-enriched uranium oxide or uranium/plutonium mixed oxide (MOX)).
Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Questions and Comments in 2009 on the National Report posed to Germany
This report was written within the EU-project InSOTEC (www.insotec.eu) which aims to generate a better understanding of the complex interplay between the technical and the social in radioactive waste management and, in particular, in the design and implementation of geological disposal. In a first step 13 countries have been analysed in order to identify prevailing socio-technical challenges.
