The BGZ research mission
The strategy for the responsible and safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel and heat-generating radioactive waste is stipulated in the German government’s National Waste Management Programme. BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH’s mandate in the national waste management strategy is derived from the Act on the Reorganisation of Responsibility in Nuclear Waste Management.
BGZ is a company organised in private legal form that is wholly owned by the Federal Government. BGZ was founded to ensure the reliable and safe operation of interim storage facilities for low, intermediate and high-level radioactive waste. Since 1 January 2019, the interim storage facilities for high-level radioactive waste have included not only the Ahaus and Gorleben interim fuel storage facilities but also the Biblis, Brokdorf, Grafenrheinfeld, Grohnde, Gundremmingen, Isar, Krümmel, Lingen, Neckarwestheim, Philippsburg and Unterweser sites1. High-level radioactive waste is stored at interim facilities before being finally placed in a repository. The process of searching for and selecting a site for a repository for high-level radioactive waste is far from complete and forecasts are difficult. Irrespective of this, the interim storage periods of up to 40 years assumed and approved to date will not be sufficient to cover the period until a repository for spent nuclear fuel and heat-generating radioactive waste is commissioned and the storage facilities are completely cleared (see Figure 1). As the operator and licence holder, BGZ is required to demonstrate that the transport and storage casks are placed in a safe manner and that the safety objectives for extended interim storage are met, irrespective of the duration of such storage and in accordance with the state of the art in science and technology.
The research programme identifies the research that is required and provides an overview of BGZ’s research strategy and activities.
Figure 1 (on the left): Simplified timeline from the first cask loading through to storage of the casks in a repository
Figure 1: Simplified timeline from the first cask loading through to storage of the casks in a repository