Regulatory guidelines by the BMUV
After having consulted the Länder, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) publishes regulatory guidelines (in the form of requirements, guidelines, criteria and recommendations). In general, these are regulations passed in consensus with the competent licensing and supervisory authorities of the Länder on the uniform application of the Atomic Energy Act. These are, among others, the new "Safety Requirements for Nuclear Power Plants". Promulgations of BMUV describe the view of the federal supervision on general questions related to nuclear safety and the administrative practice, and serve as orientation for the Länder authorities regarding the enforcement of the Atomic Energy Act. The promulgations are not binding for the Länder authorities in contrast to the general administrative provisions. Their relevance is also given by the right of the BMUV to issue binding individual directives for particular cases to the Länder authorities.
Currently, about 100 BMUV regulatory guidelines exist in the field of nuclear technology. These are regulations pertaining to
- "Safety Requirements for Nuclear Power Plants",
- accident management measures to be planned by the plant operators with regard to postulated severe accidents,
- measures regarding disaster control in the vicinity of nuclear installations,
- measures against disruptive action or other interference by third parties,
- radiation protection during maintenance work,
- reporting criteria for reportable events at nuclear power plants and research reactors,
- monitoring of emissions and radioactivity in the environment,
- periodic safety reviews for nuclear power plants,
- technical documents to be prepared regarding construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants,
- documents to be supplied with the application for a licence,
- procedures for the preparation and performance of maintenance and modification work in nuclear power plants and
- qualification of the personnel in nuclear installations.