Four years ago, on 11 March 2011, Japan was hit by a devastating tsunami triggered by a seaquake. Thousands of people were killed and injured. At the nuclear power plant Fukushima Daiichi this led to a nuclear meltdown and the release of large volumes of radioactivity, with catastrophic consequences for man and nature. Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks made the following statement:
“Today we remember the many victims of this terrible natural disaster. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. This disaster also destroyed the livelihoods of many thousands of people and their homes. In some cases, for ever.
It is still not possible to say when Japan will be able to overcome the impacts of this incident. Today, around 120,000 people are still evacuated, many of them will never be able to return to their homes. It is neither possible to say when the ban on fishing in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant can be lifted, nor whether those people in the region that make a living from fishing will be able to resume their work.
25 years after Chernobyl, the Fukushima nuclear accident was a terrible reminder of the risks of nuclear power use and the devastating impacts that a nuclear accident can have on man, nature and the environment. Fukushima also had far-reaching political consequences for us in Germany. With broad support from society we decided to gradually phase out nuclear power as quickly as possible. Of the 17 nuclear power plants in operation at the time of the Fukushima accident, only nine are now still connected to the grid. This year the Grafenrheinfeld plant will be decommissioned, and the last plant will be shut down by the end of 2022 at the latest. The highest possible safety standards will be met up until the very final day. This is a top priority for me.”
Background
In Germany, nuclear power plants may only be operated if dangers and risks to human life and health as the result of a reactor accident can be practically ruled out. In order to further increase safety at German nuclear power plants, measures were introduced following the safety checks carried out after Fukushima, and these measures were compiled in a national action plan. This is being implemented jointly by the national and Länder regulatory authorities together with operators. It is updated annually and published.
The events in Fukushima taught us that it is essential to make plans for emergency preparedness, irrespective of the likelihood of a nuclear accident. This is why, following the Fukushima accident, the Federal Environment Ministry asked the Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK) to review the technical basis for emergency preparedness in Germany and the associated legislation. As a result of this work, the SSK recommended extending the planning areas for immediate emergency preparedness measures and redefining the zones.
The central measures of emergency preparedness include evacuation, sheltering and thyroid blocking. These recommendations consider extremely unlikely serious accidents at nuclear power plants, for example significant releases of radioactivity as the result of containment failure. The federal and Länder interior ministers have taken these recommendations on board. It is now up to the competent authorities to specify and implement the SSK recommendations. In this context, the Federation and Länder are coordinating on issues concerning thyroid blocking and assessing the radiological situation in the case of a nuclear accident.
Radiation does not recognise borders. There are several nuclear power plants close to Germany’s borders in neighbouring countries. This is why we need a joint approach to emergency preparedness in Europe. This also benefits our safety. At the initiative of the Federal Environment Ministry, the heads of the European radiation protection and nuclear safety authorities agreed at the end of last year on the first Europe-wide concept for dealing with serious nuclear accidents. It contains assessment schemes for the extremely unlikely event of a serious accident and transboundary recommendations for initial emergency preparedness measures.