Reactor Safety Commission

The Reactor Safety Commission (RSK) is a body of experts from the field of nuclear technology who are supposed to advise the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety on issues relating to the safety of nuclear power plants and the disposal of radioactive waste .

Since it was founded in 1958, the RSK has been advising the Federal Ministry responsible for the use of nuclear energy (until 1962 the Federal Ministry for Nuclear Energy and Water Management, from 1962 to 1969 the Federal Ministry for Scientific Research, from 1969 to 1972 the Federal Ministry of Education and Science , from 1972 to 1986 the Federal Ministry of the Interior , since 1986 the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety). The office is located in Bonn .

The Federal Environment Minister appoints the twelve members of the RSK, including scientists, experts and operators. The statutes , which were revised by Federal Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin after the change of government in 1998 , provide that the entire range of views that are justifiable according to the state of science and technology is represented in the commission . This also includes proven opponents of the use of nuclear energy . In addition, all relevant subject areas should be taken into account in the composition.

The Federal Environment Ministry gives the RSK consulting contracts; but it can also take up topics of its own accord. The commission decides on technical and scientifically justified statements and recommendations (RSK guidelines, see also web links) . However, it is not entitled to legal assessments. The decisions of the RSK are published, the meetings themselves are not public. The RSK sets up committees and working groups to advise on specific topics, the members of which are also appointed by the Federal Environment Minister on the recommendation of the RSK.

The Reactor Safety Commission was criticized for having little influence on safety precautions at nuclear power plants and for coming to terms with the operators. For example, the Kahl and Gundremmingen A nuclear power plants are said to have been put into operation without the approval of the RSK. According to Spiegel , the RSK also approved the construction of the Mülheim-Kärlich nuclear power plant without any more detailed checks.

As a supplement to the reactor safety commission, the German government under Chancellor Angela Merkel set up the ethics commission for a secure energy supply in March 2011 due to the nuclear accidents in the nuclear power plants of Fukushima .

Chair of the RSK

Incomplete list:

• 1958-1971 J. Wengler
• 1971–1974 Dieter Smidt
• 1974–1977 Adolf Birkhofer
• 1978–1980 Hubertus Nickel
• 1981–1982 Dieter Smidt
• 1983–1984 Franz Mayinger
• 1986-19 ?? Adolf Birkhofer
• 1990–1990 Franz Mayinger
• 1991–1992 Günther Kessler
• 19 ?? - 1999 Adolf Birkhofer
• 1999–2002 Lothar Hahn
• 2002–2006 Michael Sailer
• 2006–2011 Klaus-Dieter Bandholz
• since 2011 Rudolf Wieland

See also

• Society for plant and reactor safety

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reactor Safety Commission: website
2. ^ Joachim Radkau & Lothar Hahn: The rise and fall of the German nuclear industry. oekom, Munich 2013, p. 273 ff.
3. ↑ Der Spiegel 12/1989: A lot of trickery from March 20, 1989

Web links

• Official website of the Reactor Safety Commission
• Nuclear power plants Plague: Reactor Safety Commission (RSK)
• Criteria for alerting the disaster control authority by the operators of nuclear facilities, announcement of a joint recommendation by the Reactor Safety Commission and the Radiation Protection Commission dated August 27, 2013 ( BAnz AT October 9, 2014 B1 )