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Home > International Cooperation
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International Cooperation
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The BfS cooperates with relevant scientific organisations and regulatory bodies on both the national and international level in all its areas of activity, that is, radiation protection, nuclear safety, transport and storage of radioactive substances, as well as disposal of radioactive waste.
The most important goals of international cooperation are:
- active participation in the development of internationally recognized standards for both radiation protection and safety of installations, transports, and handling of radioactive substances,
- exchange of experience with international partners in order to identify improvements needs for improvements within the BfS’s own responsibility
- scientific exchange on methods and findings, on the assessment of the international status of science and technology and its further development, and on cooperation for research and studies
- Exchange of information, and providing support or assistance, as required.
International cooperation to develop standards and regulationsRadiation protection limits and standards are implemented in Germany based on international recommendations and regulations as in most other countries. For ionising radiation, the related procedure can be outlined as follows: Based on scientific reports on radiation exposure and their review by UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation), the ICRP (International Commission on Radiation Protection) issues recommendations to update, consolidate and further develop the regime of radiation protection. The European Commission (EC), or the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna then apply these recommendations within the framework of the EURATOM Treaty or of international agreements, respectively, to convert basic parts into directives, regulations and other rules. The procedures to be performed in the different areas (ionising radiation, non-ionising radiation, transport of radioactive substances, safety of installations and equipment) are similar.
EU Member States are obliged to implement EU Directives into national legislation. For instance, the ICRP Recommendation 60, published in 1990, gave rise to the EURATOM Basic Safety Standards (EU Directive 96/29/EURATOM of May 13, 1996), which were put into national legislation by the revised version of the German Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV) and X-Ray Ordinance (RöV) which came into effect in 2001, or 2002, respectively. ICRP Report No.103 was published at the end of 2007. At present, both the European Commission and the IAEA are working on adapting radiation protection directives, or standards, to these new ICRP recommendations.
The IAEA cooperates with its member states to compile Safety Standards and Safety Guides covering radiation protection, nuclear safety, as well as safety for transportation, handling and storage of radioactive waste. These Safety Standards represent the level of safety requirements reached by consensus for the design, construction, operation and control of nuclear facilities and installations, thus constituting an important source for evaluating the status of science and technology.
With regard to transport, international rules and regulations are immediately put into national legislation. This is reasonable since radioactive sources or spent nuclear fuels are transported across national borders in many cases. The IAEA Standards for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material therefore are directly enforceable law in Germany.
The basic principles of the safety of nuclear installations and the handling and storage of radioactive waste have been included in international Conventions, that is, the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. By signing these two conventions, the signatories have committed under international law to fulfilling the high requirements set forth, reporting regularly on their implementation and taking part in a peer review process with other countries.
International exchange of experienceAlthough differences in the procedures and the legal framework relating to radiation protection, nuclear safety and waste management exist in many countries, the international exchange of experience and information is essential to provide for protection of both population and environment. International cooperation takes place in all BfS departments. BfS therefore, in agreement with BMU and other Federal Ministries, is represented in all relevant international bodies, in order to contribute the German expertise and appropriately represent the national interests.
An international platform is provided by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). NEA supports several senior expert committees in the fields of law, radiation protection, nuclear regulatory activities, safety of nuclear installations and waste management, as well as additional expert and working groups in each committee.
In addition to the international framework, there are bilateral agreements with the neighbouring states of Germany for routine consultations and intensive exchange on the expert level.
Extensive cooperation between the BfS and international organisations is based on the following arguments:
- The fundamental biologic effects of ionising and non-ionising radiation as well as the behaviour of radioactive materials in the environment are the same everywhere. It is, therefore, expedient to compare empirical data from observations, experiments and their derived models so that, on the one hand, questions of evaluations can be validated and, on the other, work is not duplicated.
- This becomes even more relevant in a time when every country is witnessing major personnel cutbacks in this field. Through international cooperation, competence can be preserved: either certain groups can specialise in specific topics or personnel can be swapped, thereby keeping each other up-to-date.
- Moreover, there is a sheer practical necessity to react to both the mergence of markets within the EU and to the associated trans-national activities of its employees.
Furthermore, the BfS has been assigned the task of a WHO (World Health Organisation) International Collaborating Centre in various areas of radiation protection, thus actively contributing to the work done by the WHO. The BfS tasks of a Collaborating Centre cover five subject areas: “Radiation risks in the low dose range”, “Network on biological dosimetry”, “Non-ionising radiation”, “Radon risk communication” and “Medical radiation exposure”. All these five projects are aimed at scientific assessment of potential and existing risks to health and environment. Based on these objectives, BfS will make recommendations for behaviour to the public.
Within the scope of control of the nuclear test ban treaty, coordinated by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), BfS operates one of 80 measurement stations for radioactivity in the air worldwide, which is the only one in Central Europe.
Concerning nuclear safety, BfS participates in the exchange and review of regulatory practices, operation experience, and evolving safety questions. Regulatory practices and operation experience are discussed with our neighbouring countries, at related international committees and by co-operating in technical meetings for drafting international agreed safety standards. Ongoing projects as to further development of nuclear safety which are coordinated by OECD/NEA, are observed and reviewed. BfS takes an active part in the review process within the frame of the Convention on Nuclear Safety.
International cooperation in the field of management and disposal of radioactive waste involves the above-mentioned Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management and, above all, consists in defining common standards, discussing the protection objectives to be pursued, and exchanging basic findings on geological formations and exposure pathways. The real implementation, i.e. first of all the establishment of a national repository, is highly dependent on the respective geological conditions, so that additional questions can only be answered case by case. Nevertheless, a comprehensive set of safety standards is being developed by the IAEA to answer these questions similar to those in radiation protection, transport and nuclear safety. This should then serve as a basis for Member States’ national regulatory documents.
Finally, international cooperation is not only a matter of scientific exchange; it is an overall concept, on the one hand providing incentives for our staff members, i.e. opportunities to work at other organisations, on the other hand providing benefits for the delegating organisation. In other words: International cooperation focuses on the scientific exchange of knowledge and promoting of science and technology (see also National Contact Point) but also on getting to know the safety cultures and environments in which radiation protection, nuclear safety and waste management are practised.
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