Civil protection in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant

  • Service description

    Despite the high safety standards for nuclear power plants and the associated requirements, an accident in Germany involving the release of radioactive substances into the environment can never be ruled out with 100 per cent certainty. This also applies to nuclear facilities in neighbouring European countries. For this reason, precautions are taken in all countries to protect the population.

    Due to the federal structure of the Federal Republic of Germany, authorities and organisations at various levels cooperate in the event of an emergency in order to ensure the protection of the population - together with the operators - in the event of an emergency in Germany.

    The disaster control measures are short-term emergency measures such as

    • the request to stay indoors to protect against radioactive radiation,
    • the distribution and intake of iodine tablets to reduce radiation exposure to the thyroid gland,
    • warning the public against consuming freshly harvested food and fresh milk, and
    • evacuation according to prepared plans as a precautionary measure and to protect the population if a large amount of radioactive material has been deposited at the place of residence.


    The basic precautionary radiation protection measures are longer-term measures such as

    • Control of trade in food and animal feed,
    • Recommendations regarding individual behaviour (e.g. asking people to close windows and doors, avoid spending time outdoors, cover sandpits, etc.),
    • Measures in the area of agriculture (e.g. bringing animals into the barn, early harvest, washing fruit and vegetables, etc.),
    • Large-scale decontamination measures or
    • Regulation of residence and access rights.


    The federal states are responsible for the area of disaster control with the corresponding disaster control measures and the federal government is primarily responsible for radiation protection precautions and the associated measures, which are implemented by the environment ministries of the federal states.
     

  • What else should I know?

    A corresponding disaster control plan was developed by the lower disaster control authorities for each catchment area.

  • Remarks

    For the Biblis nuclear power plant, there is a brochure "Emergency protection for the area surrounding the Biblis nuclear power plant", which has been agreed with the competent authorities of the states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate and financed by the operator; this can be downloaded from the operator's website.

  • Typing

    4

Who should I contact?

Responsibility for this lies with the district or city as the lower disaster control authority.

Responsible departments