News and press releases
GRS seeks to provide clear and careful communication. Our demands on the comprehensibility and quality of information are based on the Guidelines for good science PR.
In our five-part series on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Fukushima, today we look at the dismantling activities. The dismantling of a nuclear power plant (NPP) is a lengthy process.
Physicist Dr Thorsten Stahl heads the Radiation and Environmental Protection Department of GRS, is the company's radiation protection supervisor and was part of the team with which GRS provided technical support to the Federal Government during the accident at Fukushima. In this interview, he explains what makes determining the long-term health effects of the accident so complex and how he assesses a possible discharge of contaminated water from a radiological point of view.
The second part of our series "10 Years of Fukushima" deals with the radiological consequences of the events: How badly were the plant site and the surrounding area contaminated? How many people were affected and to what extent? What are the long-term effects of radioactivity on the region and what is the situation like today?
Our GRS colleague Dr Michael Maqua has been performing the function of INES Officer for Germany on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment for more than 13 years. INES stands for "International Nuclear and radiological Event Scale", a scale for the classification of nuclear events and accidents. The trained engineer followed the events around the nuclear accident at Fukushima from the GRS emergency centre. In this interview, he answers our questions about how he remembers this time.
In interventional radiology, diagnostic or therapeutic medical interventions can be performed while monitoring them at the same time by means of imaging. Such interventions increasingly offer an alternative to classical surgery as they usually do not require a general anaesthetic and are associated with fewer risks, less pain and shorter convalescence times. However, as ionising X-rays are often used for imaging, the radiation exposure of medical staff increases with the number of such operations. In an interdisciplinary research project funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, GRS scientists are developing a three-dimensional simulation model that will allow conclusions to be drawn on how to optimise radiation protection.
For about 10 years, our GRS colleague Dr. Michael Maqua has been performing the duties of the Ines officer for Germany on behalf of the Federal Environment Ministry. INES stands for "International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale", a scale for the classification of nuclear incidents and accidents. More than 70 countries are currently using INES. The graduate engineer is engaged in international project management and answers all our questions about his work as an INES officer.
Researchers from Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) have developed a system for the measurement of radon and other naturally occurring radionuclides. With this monitoring system it is possible for the first time to carry out measurements in hot thermal waters that are used for the production of heat and electricity from deep geothermal energy.
(Köln, 1.7.2016) With effect from July 1, 2016, the supervisory board of Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH has appointed Dipl.-Ing. Uwe Stoll the new technical and scientific director of GRS. Stoll succeeds Prof. Dr. Frank-Peter Weiß, who left GRS to enter retirement.
The issue of the safe nuclear waste management is the focus of this year’s EUROSAFE Forum taking place on 4th and 5th November 2013 in Cologne. More than 350 representatives of scientific-technical expert and research organisations, authorities, the nuclear industry and non-governmental organisations from Germany and abroad are expected to convene at Gürzenich in Cologne.