Safety for nuclear power plants

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York have reopened the debate in Germany abut the safety of existing nuclear power plants. On the one hand, it culminated in the demand, made from a prominent political position, to disconnect from the grid prematurely five of the older nuclear power plants because they offered no sufficient protection from terrorist attacks carried out by means of commercial airliners. On the other hand, the competent German Federal Ministry of the Interior to this day has not been able to detect a hazardous situation for Germany which would require nuclear power plants (or other facilities) to be shut down - temporarily -so as to reduce their hazard potential. The legal situation is discussed in detail. It is evident that the debate about the safety of any kind of industrial plants will go on and will be revived by any kind of event. Despite the growing need for public safety, it must not be overlooked in the public debate that an absolute exclusion of risk is impossible and that, consequently, there can be no absolute protection of any legal object. (orig.)