Konrad Repository Facing its Construction - 8229

According to the German Atomic Energy Act the Federation is responsible for the construction and operation of installations for the safekeeping and disposal of radioactive waste. This duty was assigned to the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fur Strahlenschutz – BfS) . In 1982, the Federal Institute of Physics and Metrology (Physikalisch Technische Bundesanstalt – PTB) as the precursor of BfS applied for a license for the disposal of radioactive waste with negligible heat generation in the Konrad iron ore mine near Salzgitter at the Ministry for Environment of Lower Saxony. After 25 years of plan approval procedure and subsequent lawsuits the license is now valid and Konrad is waiting for construction. Facing this challenge BfS has established a project team to supervise the in-house and external activities to be done. It is intended to construct the Konrad repository within a preparation period of two years and a subsequent erection phase of four years. Thus, Konrad is planned to come into operation in 2013. In this paper the development of the plan approval procedure, the technical design of the planned repository, especially with regard to safety-related aspects, and the planning for the construction will be discussed.