The legal standards and provisions

On the basis of the facts of Section 7, Subsection 3 of the German Atomic Energy Act, stock is taken of the legal position. Points of special importance in this regard are the precise distinction between an operating permit and a decommissioning permit, and the question of the ranking order of decommissioning variants. Ultimately, decommissioning legally must be interpreted as a phase between the final discontinuation of operations and the safe enclosure and dismantling, respectively, of a plant. Another open point is the ranking order of the variances of fact included in Section 7, Subsection 3 of the German Atomic Energy Act, on which it can be said that there is the possibility of arranging these variances in time after decommissioning as well as the possibility to choose freely among the variants available. Also a partial permit relationship linking the individual variants of Section 7, Subsection 3 of the German Atomic Energy Act cannot be accepted. The substantive criteria to be met in a permit under Section 7, Subsection 3 of the German Atomic Energy Act raise major practical difficulties due to the reference contained in Section 7, Subsection 3, second sentence of the German Atomic Energy Act. These problems become manifest especially in the open question applying the body of nuclear technical codes, most of which were set up with the construction and operation of a nuclear facility in mind. In the matter of discretionary refusal, important reasons would favor a reduction to zero of this discretionary power. After all, also the question of waste management has not yet been clarified in general terms with respect to the waste arising from activities under Section 7, Subsection 3, German Atomic Energy Act. For this point to be settled, permissible limits, measurement techniques, and demonstration of use must be defined in the light of each individual case. (orig./HP)