BGE discusses results of second phase of safety inspection of Konrad repository

Construction of the Konrad repository in Salzgitter has reached the finishing straight. The first low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste is to be emplaced in the repository in the early 2030s. Since the planning approval decision for the Konrad repository, there have been advances in science and technology, and the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung (BGE) has therefore commissioned external experts to review whether the relevant safety requirements are still in line with the state of the art. These insights will be incorporated into the planning and construction of the repository. The evaluation of the safety requirements for the Konrad repository according to the state of the art of science and technology (ÜsiKo) is now in its second phase, and the preliminary results of this second phase were presented by the experts in Braunschweig on 23 and 24 October and discussed with around 60 guests from the specialist community.

Review of safety for the operational and post-operational phases of the Konrad repository

The ÜsiKo is a review of the safety requirements of the Konrad repository carried out independently by the BGE. The first phase identified aspects that may require a safety inspection in comparison with the current state of science and technology. These aspects have changed with regard to the requirements for a repository if it were to be newly licensed today, and it cannot be immediately ruled out that they have a bearing on certain areas of safety. What exactly this could mean for the construction of the Konrad repository has now been investigated in the further expert assessment in Phase 2 (review and, if necessary, update of safety analyses).

This involved a total of 36 review requirements (deltas) that were very varied in nature. For the repository’s operational phase, for example, the review included an analysis of the use of collision warning systems on underground emplacement vehicles.  In the repository’s post-operational phase, for example, it included an examination of the possibility of radioactive gas dispersal in the subsurface geology. 

Iris Graffunder, Chair of the BGE Management Board, takes a positive view of the results presented in Braunschweig: “We commissioned a detailed investigation into whether progress in the state of the art of science and technology with regard to the safety analyses could have a concrete impact on the safety of the Konrad repository. As things stand today, there is no evidence to that effect.”

The second phase of the ÜsiKo was also independently monitored by a scientific team. The four-member team, with members from the universities of Clausthal, Hanover and Jena and from Öko-Institut e.V., was continuously informed about the process status and made suggestions and recommendations but did not intervene in the working process in any other way. Their assessments are summarised in a separate report. Together, the scientific team gave the following explanation at the event in Braunschweig: “In the monitoring team’s opinion, all first-phase safety-relevant issues arising from the further development of the state of the art in science and technology were comprehensively investigated, categorised and evaluated in Phase 2. There are no indications from the ÜsiKo that safe operation of the Konrad repository would not be possible.” 

Final assessment of the results in 2025

The subsequent procedure will be as follows: the reviewers will incorporate the feedback from the event into their analyses. In 2025, the final reports will be published. The BGE will then use these reports to make a final assessment of Phase 2 of the ÜsiKo and decide on how to proceed.