// Waste Management Strategies and Methods

RETURN

Preliminary study on the return of reprocessing waste from fuel elements of German research reactors from the reprocessing plant in Dounreay, Scotland

Within the scope of the project, the contractual framework and prerequisites for the return of cemented reprocessing waste to Germany were examined. This included, among other things, reviewing the bilateral agreements between the relevant German research institutions and the operator of the reprocessing plant in Dounreay, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA). The waste containers (560-liter drums with NIREX specification) containing cemented reprocessing waste are expected to be available at UKAEA in Dounreay from mid-2007 onwards. The return to Germany must be completed by 2018 to 2022 at the latest. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) has determined that the waste containers contain medium-radioactive waste and are classified as "other radioactive substances" according to § 2 (3) sentence 1 AtG. Since interim storage in Germany cannot be ruled out before the waste containers are delivered to the Konrad repository, options for storage at federal interim storage facilities, energy supply companies, and private operators were researched. Currently, the Jülich Research Center (FZJ) and the Main Department of Decontamination Facilities at the Karlsruhe Research Center (FZK) are favored as potential interim storage locations.