Wolfram König

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Wolfram König (born January 26, 1958 in Lübeck ), member of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen , has been President of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Disposal (BASE) since 2016 ; previously he was President of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS ), previously State Secretary for the Environment in Saxony-Anhalt and trained engineer for architecture and urban development.

Life

Wolfram König graduated from the University of Kassel (now the University of Kassel) with a degree in engineering (specializing in architecture and urban development). From 1984 to 1987 König was managing director of an environmental planning office and from 1987 to 1992 deputy managing director of the scientific center "Human-Environment-Technology" at the University of Kassel. From 1992 to 1994 he headed the staff unit at the regional president of Hanover . In Saxony-Anhalt he was from 1994 to 1998 as a member of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen State Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment under the red-green state government, where he closed the Morsleben repository , a repository for nuclear waste that was already in operation during the GDR era. From 1995 to 1998, König was the special representative of the state government of Saxony-Anhalt for the disposal of hazardous waste.

From 1998 to 1999, König taught as a professor at the University of Kassel .

In March 1999, König was appointed President of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection by the Federal Government . The Federal Office is the German federal authority responsible for radiation protection and is subordinate to the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

In 2001 the Federal Office for Radiation Protection declared that no further radioactive waste would be stored in Morsleben in the future. König had the Morsleben repository stabilized from 2003 to 2011 as a precautionary measure.

In 2002 and 2003 he headed the commission of experts on behalf of the German Bundestag on the question of the risk of radiation in former radar facilities of the Bundeswehr and the NVA ( Radar Commission ).

At the end of 2007, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection published a study that examined the relationship between the proximity of the home to a nuclear power plant and the risk of developing cancer.

On January 1, 2009, the Federal Government transferred the operation of the Asse mine to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection , after the former operator was accused of insufficiently informing the supervisory authorities.

In 2013, the federal government, led by the CDU , CSU and FDP , and the opposition parties SPD and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen agreed in a site selection law on a new repository search. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection should coordinate the search and a new Federal Office for Nuclear Waste Management should scientifically support the search process.

In November 2014, at a hearing of the Commission for the Storage of Highly Radioactive Waste , König proposed a reorganization of the disposal area. Parts of the Federal Office headed by König as well as the companies commissioned with the construction of repositories, DBE mbH and Asse GmbH, were to be merged into a new state-owned company that was to build repositories and carry out the search. The Federal Office for Nuclear Waste Management should take over the supervision and approval. The reason given by König was that double structures would have to be dismantled and more transparent structures created in order to be able to carry out the search for a new repository. The High Radioactive Waste Storage Commission largely endorsed the proposal on March 2, 2015 after its own deliberations on the law. Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks announced at a hearing in the Commission in December 2015 that a reorganization would be implemented from 2016. The reorganization was decided by the Bundestag on June 23, 2016 with the “Law to amend the Site Selection Act”. On August 3, 2016, Wolfram König was appointed President of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management. For a transitional phase, i.e. until the appointment of the new BfS President Dr. Inge Paulini on April 26, 2017, König continued his office as President of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection.

criticism

The appointment of a nuclear energy critic as President of the Radiation Protection Office as the successor to the retired biophysicist Alexander Kaul was mainly criticized by the opposition and supporters of nuclear energy . The FAZ criticized the fact that, for political reasons, a recognized expert had been replaced by a non-specialist. An expert opinion by the Science Council recommended in 2006 that "in future candidates for the head of office (should) only be appointed if they have sufficient scientific experience". The Frankfurter Rundschau, on the other hand, ruled that König had "made the business-related office an independent authority" and "neutralized the nuclear power-friendly authority". On the one hand, he approved the transport of Castor from reprocessing in France to Gorleben, despite the resistance of opponents of nuclear power, on the other hand, he spoke early in favor of examining alternative repository locations instead of Gorleben as the only location. In 2013, the black and yellow federal government and the opposition parties SPD and Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen agreed on a new search for a repository.

König remained in office even under the following governments, without the alliance green government participation, and the initially critical FAZ also praised his "ability to present difficult issues in a catchy manner" and "to involve supposed critics" in connection with the processing of scandals and mishaps surrounding the Asse nuclear waste dump . In a renewed investigation in 2014, the Science Council issued “predominantly good to very good research, service and consulting services” to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. His main critic is the head of the reactor safety department in the Federal Environment Ministry Gerald Hennenhöfer , who was retired at the beginning of 2014 , and whose instruction to continue to store nuclear waste in Morsleben was contrary to his convictions.

swell

  1. ↑ International Biographical Archive 36/2011 of September 6, 2011
  2. ↑ Morsleben repository for radioactive waste (ERAM). April 1, 2014, accessed May 10, 2020 .
  3. ^ The mining accident in Morsleben Tagesspiegel of October 11, 2011
  4. ↑ Is it all just coincidence? Berliner Zeitung from December 11, 2007
  5. ↑ Living up to responsibility , Federal Government of May 17, 2013, accessed on March 20, 2016.
  6. ↑ Presentation for the “Evaluation” hearing on November 3, 2014 , Commission for the Storage of Highly Radioactive Waste Materials, November 7, 2014, accessed on March 20, 2016.
  7. ↑ Doubts about aspects of the Site Selection Act , Commission for the Storage of Highly Radioactive Waste Materials of November 3, 2014, accessed on March 20, 2016.
  8. ↑ Construction and operation of repositories should be in the hands of the state , Commission for the storage of highly radioactive waste materials from March 2, 2015, accessed on March 20, 2016.
  9. ↑ Structure of the search for a repository , Commission for the Storage of Highly Radioactive Waste Materials of December 18, 2015, accessed on March 20, 2016.
  10. ↑ Bundestag resolutions on June 23 and 24 , German Bundestag from June 24, 2016, accessed on July 28, 2016.
  11. ↑ Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety: Hendricks announces important personnel decisions for reorganization in the repository area . Press release No. 184/16. Berlin, August 3, 2016.
  12. ↑ Stefan Dietrich: The Infallible Ministry FAZ from May 12, 2005
  13. ↑ Scientific policy statement on the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), Salzgitter (PDF; 332 kB) - Report of the Science Council from May 2006, p. 70.
  14. ^ "The story of green felt", Frankfurter Rundschau from June 18, 2005
  15. ↑ Gorleben weighs on the credibility of the taz from November 25, 2011
  16. ↑ The head of radiation protection calls for alternatives to Gorleben Spiegel from May 22, 2011
  17. ↑ Wolfram König: We need a repository consensus Deutschlandradio from August 20, 2008
  18. ^ Opinion on the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), Salzgitter , Wissenschaftsrat dated October 24, 2014, p. 9, accessed on July 28, 2016.
  19. ↑ The controversial moderator Cicero 02/2011, pp. 84–85
personal data
SURNAME King, Wolfram
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German engineer and President of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management
DATE OF BIRTH January 26, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Lübeck