Gerald Hennenhöfer, head of the Directorate-General Safety of Nuclear Installations, Radiological Protection, Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the Federal Environment Ministry, has been appointed the new chairperson of the group comprising heads of European nuclear safety regulators. As chairperson Hennenhöfer will be heading the second conference on nuclear safety in Europe taking place on 11 and 12 June 2013 in Brussels. The aim of the conference is to discuss safety and inform participants about developments in nuclear safety.
The heads of the EU nuclear safety regulators and the EU Commission have come together to form the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG). The task of ENSREG is to establish a common understanding of nuclear safety and the disposal of radioactive wastes.
Hennenhöfer’s appointment as chairperson of ENSREG is both recognition and confirmation of the continuous efforts made by the Federal Environment Ministry to improve safety standards in the operation of nuclear power plants in European countries that wish to keep using nuclear power. The Federal Environment Ministry expressly supported carrying out stress tests based on stringent criteria for European nuclear power plants, as was done at national level in Germany previously.
The conference in Brussels was organised by ENSREG and will focus on the following areas: what did the EU stress tests achieve? What is the current status on the implementation of national action plans drawn up as a result of the stress tests? How has nuclear safety in Europe further developed since the nuclear accident in Fukushima? At the conference Germany advocates strengthening the nuclear safety structure in Europe.