Protection of humans and the environment is one of the primary tasks of the state. This also applies to possible hazards brought about by the operation or decommissioning of nuclear installations. These include nuclear power plants, research reactors, fuel fabrication plants and uranium enrichment plants.

Nuclear facilities for the production, treatment, processing and fission of nuclear fuels must consequently be subject to a nuclear licensing procedure for their construction and operation, and are permanently subject to state supervision.

Licensing of nuclear installations

The Atomic Energy Act stipulates that these nuclear installations in Germany require a licence for

• construction
• ownership
• operation
• essential modifications, and
• decommissioning.

In particular, it must be demonstrated that the "precautions required according to the state of the art in science and technology were taken against damage caused by the construction and operation of the installation".

The required safety precautions serve the fundamental objective of protecting humans and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. Operational disturbances and so-called design-basis accidents must also be managed at all plants so as to prevent damage to the environment. Precautionary measures must be taken even for possible catastrophic effects in case of very unlikely events.

Supervision of nuclear facilities - monitoring safety

Nuclear facilities are subject to state supervision throughout their entire service life. This applies from the construction of the plant up to and including its decommissioning. The respective federal state in which the plant is located is responsible for supervision, and thus for monitoring the safety of the plants. Each federal state therefore has a federal state authority responsible for nuclear supervision.