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  2. Safety
  3. Approvals and licences

Approvals and licences

For the return of the loaded casks, essentially three approvals or licences are required:

 

Package approval

  • The required protective functions during transport and storage are ensured by the casks. In order to obtain the approval certificate, it must be proven for each cask type in extensive tests and with the aid of numerical proofs that the casks are safe even under extreme accident conditions.
  • Within the framework of the hazardous goods law, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE/new designation of the BfE since 1 January 2020) is responsible in Germany for issuing design approvals for transport casks. BASE checks radiological aspects such as radiation shielding and criticality safety. Mechanical and thermal properties, leak tightness and quality assurance are independently assessed by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) and confirmed by a test certificate. BASE issues the approval on the basis of these two assessments. (Source/Link: BASE)
  • The casks of the type CASTOR® HAW28M of GNS originally received their package approval certificatealready in 2009 from the then competent Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The approval number is: D/4325/B(U)F-96 The current Revision 3 of the caskapproval was granted by the Federal Office for Nuclear Waste Disposal Safety (BfE) on 13 July 2018. It is valid until 13 July 2023. Since the German storage licences stipulate, among other things, that it must be possible to remove the casks from the interim storage facilities at any time, package approval must also be permanently maintained during the storage phase with regular revisions.
  • The casks of the type CASTOR® HAW28M are approved for road, rail and sea transport.
    Further information about CASTOR® HAW28M

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The storage licence (§ 6 AtG)

  • The storage licence according to § 6 AtG  must be applied for and granted separately for each interim storage facility.
  • The Federal Office for Nuclear Waste Management (BASE/new designation of the BfE since 1 January 2020) has accepted the modification of the existing storage licence for the storage of vitrified waste in the on-site interim storage facility in Biblis to the operator BGZ at the end of December 2019 according to § 6 AtG.
  • The storage licence is a prerequisite for the granting of the transport licence (§ 4 AtG).
  • Comprehensive further information on the licensing procedure can be obtained from the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE).

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The transport licence (§ 4 AtG)

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