Nuclear reactors: Notifiable events in 2002

Notifiable events in nuclear power plants in the Federal Republic of Germany are reported to the regulatory authorities under the Atomic Energy Act in accordance with standardized national reporting criteria, and are recorded centrally. The binding legal provisions covering these reports can be found in the Nuclear Safety Commissioner and Reporting Ordinance (AtSMV). On an international level, events are classified in the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) comprising eight levels. The four quarterly reports covering 2002 include 167 notifiable events for nuclear power plants in operation and in the decommissioning stage. Of these events, 157 are in reporting category N (normal), while ten are in reporting category E (urgent). No events have been reported in category S (immediate). 154 events are INES level 0, 13 events are INES level 1. 13 category-N events were reported for research reactors. All of them are INES level 0. There were no releases of radioactive material above the licensed levels for ex-vent air and liquid effluents.