Recommendations and Directive

Recommendations concerning mining relics

Immediately after the end of uranium mining, the German Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK) issued recommendations concerning on the special radiological protection situation caused by mining activities in order to enable urgently needed regulatory decisions. In these recommendations the SSK has formulated reference values. If these reference values are complied with, it is unlikely that measures to reduce radiological exposure will have to be taken.

When determining these reference values, the SSK followed the basic principle that for radiological protection reasons intervention measures are not justified on radiological protection grounds for conditions that can also occur under normal conditions. The assessment criteria applied in the project "Radiological registration, examination and evaluation of mining relics (Register of Relics)" are based on the SSK recommendations.

These were published in the years 1990 - 1994 and dealt with urgent questions that arose during the remediation of uranium mining areasThese included details on the possible use of tailings piles, areas affected by mining activities and water bodies, as well as the removal of scrap metal and demolition waste and the use of contaminated buildings in the uranium mining area. In addition, the SSK issued a statement on the use of copper slag from the Mansfeld region in 1992. All SSK recommendations can be downloaded as PDF files from SSK Online.

Guideline for emission and immission monitoring

As a result of the further development of the remediation in regions the of former uranium mining, a regulation for monitoring of these activities was adopted in 1997: The "Richtlinie zur Emissions- und Immissionsüberwachung bei bergbaulichen Tätigkeiten" (REI Bergbau) is applied in the new Länder in accordance with § 162 of the Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV).

All changes during the remediation work activities have to be applied for at the competent authority. During the remediation process unavoidable radioactive discharges to water, dust and air are investigated and approved by the authorities. Monitoring of emissions and immissions make it possible to check compliance with permissible activity discharges and to assess the radiation exposure of humans resulting from the discharges of radioactive substances with air and water and from releases.

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is responsible for the central registration of the results of the emission and immission monitoring according to the "REI Bergbau" and its reporting to the environmental ministry as well as the Federal Parliament and the Federal Council.