Nuclear facility

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A nuclear facility (also a nuclear facility , nuclear facility or atomic facility ) is a technical facility from the field of nuclear technology , in particular a facility for processing, utilizing or storing nuclear fuel . The German Atomic Energy Act distinguishes between the terms nuclear facility and nuclear facility and does not recognize the other terms. The Swiss Nuclear Energy Act only uses the term nuclear installation. In a narrower sense, the term nuclear fission plant is understood to mean the nuclear part of such a plant, for example a nuclear reactor , including the plant parts connected with it in terms of process technology, for example a cooling tower . In contrast to this, the "ancillary facilities" are those parts of the system that do not pose a risk from ionizing radiation or fissile material , but which are nevertheless necessary for the safe operation of the system, for example security , the system fence and the supply and discharge lines (fresh water, electrical Electricity).

scope of application

Germany

In Germany , the term “nuclear facility” includes all facilities approved under the Atomic Energy Act . These are, on the one hand, commercial nuclear power plants for electricity generation and research reactors at universities or research institutes and, on the other hand, facilities for nuclear supply ( e.g. uranium enrichment plants and fuel element factories ) and disposal (e.g. reprocessing plants and interim storage facilities ).

Austria

In Austria , the Federal Constitutional Act for a nuclear-free Austria prohibits the construction of plants for generating energy from nuclear power and the transport and storage of nuclear fuel. Research reactors and radiomedical facilities are not affected by this law. In Austria, the term “nuclear installation” is therefore only used in international treaties with neighboring countries (“nuclear information agreement ”), including nuclear reactors, fuel cycle systems and radiomedical facilities.

Switzerland

In Switzerland , the Nuclear Energy Act describes nuclear facilities - under the designation "nuclear facility" - largely identically as in Germany.

Belgium

In Belgium the concept of a nuclear facility is given a somewhat broader meaning. In addition to the facilities mentioned for Germany, the terminology there also includes the Institut national des RadioEléments (IRE) in Fleurus , which mainly deals with the manufacture of radiopharmaceutical preparations ( radiochemistry ).

safety

The operator of a nuclear facility must ensure at all times and in every condition of the facility that all necessary precautions are taken to protect people and the environment. Not only may technologies that have already been introduced be implemented in terms of technical precautions, personnel training and operational organization, but the current state of science and research must be taken into account. The precaution also includes, in particular, protection against the effects of third parties on the system, which must be guaranteed by system security.

The most important regulations to ensure the safety of German nuclear facilities are compiled in the manual for reactor safety and radiation protection from the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (see literature ).

At sight

Germany

In Germany, compliance with the legal regulations is monitored by the supervisory authorities , which are supported by independent technical expert organizations. The release of radioactive substances, both in and around the facility, is continuously and automatically monitored by the authorities via remote nuclear reactor monitoring.

In addition to ongoing supervision, nuclear facilities must undergo regular safety checks. Not only is the function of individual systems checked, but the basic security concept and the interaction of the various systems are also checked. The security review comprises three parts: deterministic security status analysis , probabilistic security analysis and deterministic security analysis .

Switzerland

All Swiss nuclear facilities fall under the supervision of the Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate (ENSI), while the industrial and medical facilities that are only available on a smaller scale fall under the supervision of the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG); the latter also monitors the neutron spallation source at the Paul Scherrer Institute . The CERN in Geneva is monitored internationally.

Reporting requirement

Germany

According to the German Radiation Protection Ordinance , reportable events , i.e. incidents that have or can have safety-relevant effects, must be reported by the operator to the competent authority and by this to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection within certain periods of time. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection checks whether the same event can also occur in other systems. If this is the case, the operators of all systems in question must take preventive measures.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Law on the peaceful use of nuclear energy and protection against its dangers (Atomic Energy Act). (PDF; 185 kB) Accessed March 12, 2012 .
  2. ↑ Nuclear Energy Act. (PDF; 584 kB) In: Systematic collection of federal laws. Retrieved February 12, 2012 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e Safety of nuclear facilities. (No longer available online.) Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety , February 1, 2010, archived from the original on April 8, 2014 ; Retrieved April 3, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bmub.bund.de
  4. ↑ see e.g. B. the agreement on the early exchange of information in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection ("Nuclear Information Agreement" Austria - Switzerland) (PDF; 64 kB) of June 18, 1999
  5. ^ Moniteur Belge - Belgisch Staatsblad. (PDF; 541 kB) June 2, 2009, accessed on January 25, 2010 .
  6. ^ BAG: 2004 annual report of the Radiation Protection Department