Regulatory requirements for decommissioning of nuclear facilities in Germany

In Germany the regulatory framework is designed to be applicable to all types of nuclear facilities / activities including the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. This generic approach has been developed for regulating nuclear activities over the many years of nuclear experience. Provisions, applicable to an individual subject area, such as decommissioning of nuclear facilities, are "scattered" in the various documents of the national regulatory framework. In order to provide assistance to those who are dealing with decommissioning of nuclear facilities, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) issued a "Decommissioning Guide", which compiles all regulations relevant for licensing and supervision of nuclear facilities in the decommissioning phase. In addition, the Nuclear Waste Management Commission (ESK) has published guidelines, which are complementary to the Decommissioning Guide in a technical sense. Both documents have been updated in the light of the challenges resulting from the increasing number of nuclear power plant decommissioning projects in Germany. The paper provides an overview on the regulatory framework for decommissioning and highlights the recent updates of relevant guiding documents.