Nuclear Energy Ordinance (NEO) (NEO)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Section 1 General
Art. 50 Minimisation of radioactive waste
Nuclear installations must be designed, constructed and operated in such a manner as to ensure that the lowest possible quantity of radioactive waste in terms of activity and volume arises from their operation and decommissioning. For this purpose the following requirements apply in particular: a. for the construction of nuclear installations, materials must be chosen that ensure that the formation of activation products is minimal; b. for the operation of nuclear installations, the use of consumables in the controlled zone must be kept to a minimum; c. materials that have been contaminated with radioactive substances must be decontaminated wherever possible and appropriate.
Art. 51 Categories of radioactive waste
For the purpose of management and disposal, radioactive waste is classified in the following categories: a. high level radioactive waste: 1. spent fuel which is no longer used, 2. vitrified fission product solutions resulting from the reprocessing of spent fuel; b. alphatoxic waste: waste in which the content of alpha emitters exceeds 20,000 becquerels per gram of conditioned waste; c. low and intermediate level waste: all other radioactive waste.
Art. 51a Material composition of radioactive waste
Radioactive waste may contain chemically toxic and chemically reactive substances, provided this is compatible with safe disposal.
Art. 51a — Inserted by No I of the O of 31 May 2024, in force since 1 July 2024 (AS 2024 280).
Art. 51abis Exceptions to the obligation to manage and dispose of nuclear waste
The following are not subject to the obligation to manage and dispose of nuclear waste in accordance with Article 31 NEA: a. low-level radioactive waste that may be discharged into the environment in accordance with Articles 111–116 RPO; b. radioactive waste that may be placed in decay storage in accordance with Article 117 RPO.
Art. 51abis — Originally Art. 51a. Inserted by No I of the O of 7 Dec. 2018, in force since 1 Feb. 2019 (AS 2019 183). let. a — SR 814.501
Art. 52 Waste management programme
1 Those required to manage radioactive waste must include the following information in the waste management programme: a. origin, type and quantity of radioactive waste; b. the required deep geological repositories, including their design concept; c. allocation of radioactive waste to the deep geological repositories; d. plan for the realisation of the deep geological repositories; e. duration and required capacity of central and decentral interim storage; f. financial plan for the waste management operations through to decommissioning of the nuclear installations, including details concerning: 1. the activities to be carried out, 2. the associated costs, 3. the type of financing; g. the information concept. 2 The waste management programme must be updated every five years. 3 ENSI and the Federal Office are responsible for reviewing and monitoring compliance with the waste management programme.
Para. 3 — Amended by Annex No 12 of the O of 12 Nov. 2008 on the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, in force since 1 Jan. 2009 (AS 2008 5747).
Section 2 Clearance Measurement and Conditioning
Art. 53 Clearance measurement of materials
1 Any person intending to remove materials from controlled zones of a nuclear installation must carry out a clearance measurement with appropriate quality assurance and document it. 2 Quantities of material weighing more than 1,000 kilograms or with a volume greater than a cubic metre must be reported to ENSI at least 10 days prior to removal from the nuclear installation, and the required documentation must be submitted. 3 ENSI shall specify the detailed requirements on clearance measurement and reporting in guidelines.
Para. 1 — Amended by No I of the O of 7 Dec. 2018, in force since 1 Feb. 2019 (AS 2019 183). Para. 2 — Amended by Annex No 12 of the O of 12 Nov. 2008 on the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, in force since 1 Jan. 2009 (AS 2008 5747). Para. 3 — Amended by Annex No 12 of the O of 12 Nov. 2008 on the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, in force since 1 Jan. 2009 (AS 2008 5747).
Art. 54 Conditioning
1 Radioactive waste must be conditioned as quickly as possible. The collection of non-conditioned waste for the purpose of carrying out periodical conditioning campaigns is permitted. 2 Conditioned waste packages must be suitable for transport, storage and disposal. 3 Each waste package must be labelled and provided with documentation that describes production, composition and properties. This documentation must be retained and handed over to the company that is to carry out the further waste management operations. 4 For the production of a conditioned waste package a type or individual permit issued by ENSI is necessary. 5 Applications must be accompanied by all documents that are necessary for assessment purposes, and these must provide information relating in particular to: a. the conditioning procedure; b. the waste package and its components; c. the quality assurance; d. the documentation. 6 ENSI shall specify the detailed requirements on conditioning and application documents in
Para. 4 — Amended by Annex No 12 of the O of 12 Nov. 2008 on the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, in force since 1 Jan. 2009 (AS 2008 5747). Para. 6 — Amended by Annex No 12 of the O of 12 Nov. 2008 on the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, in force since 1 Jan. 2009 (AS 2008 5747).
Art. 54a Exemptions from the conditioning obligation
Radioactive waste need not be conditioned if it is conceivable that: a. it may be discharged into the environment as set out in Articles 111–116 RPO; b. it may be placed in decay storage as set out in Article 117 RPO; or c. it meets the requirements for clearance set out in Article 106 RPO.
Art. 54a — Inserted by No I of the O of 27 May 2026, in force since 1 July 2026 (AS 2026 302). let. a — SR 814.501
Section 3 Handling Radioactive Waste
Art. 55 Competences
1 The Federal Office is the competent authority for: a. issuing licences for handling radioactive waste; b. approving the agreement concerning the return of radioactive waste in accordance with Article 34 paragraph 3 letter d and paragraph 4 of the Nuclear Energy Act. 2 … 3 The Department is responsible for concluding the agreement under international law in accordance with Article 34 paragraph 3 letter a NEA in the case of the export of low and intermediate-level waste for conditioning purposes.
Para. 2 — Inserted by No I of the O of 7 Dec. 2018 (AS 2019 183). Repealed by No I of the O of 27 May 2026, with effect from 1 July 2026 (AS 2026 302). Para. 3 — Inserted by No I of the O of 29 Nov. 2023, in force since 1 Jan. 2024 (AS 2023 765).
Art. 55a Exemptions from the licensing obligation
The handling of radioactive waste shall be exempt from the licensing obligation under Article 34 paragraph 1 NEA if it is conceivable or has already been established that: a. it may be discharged into the environment as set out in Articles 111–116 RPO; b. it may be placed in decay storage as set out in Article 117 RPO; or c. it meets the requirements for clearance set out in Article 106 RPO.
Art. 55a — Inserted by No I of the O of 27 May 2026, in force since 1 July 2026 (AS 2026 302). let. a — SR 814.501
Art. 56 Application and related documentation
1 Applications for a licence for the transport and for the import, export or transit of radioactive waste must be submitted jointly by the consignor, the consignee, the carrier and the transport organiser. 2 The documentation must provide the necessary information for assessing the application, including in particular: a. the composition and properties of the radioactive waste; b. the person responsible for waste management, consignor and consignee; c. the place of origin and destination; d. the mode of transport, in particular evidence of compliance with requirements on the carriage of dangerous goods.
Art. 57 Preliminary clarifications, validity, retention of documents and reporting obligation
Articles 16, 18, 20 and 21 apply by analogy with respect to the handling of radioactive waste.
Section 4 Geological Investigations
Art. 58 Application documents
Applications for a licence for geological investigations must be accompanied by the following documentation: a. an investigation programme; b. a geological report; c. a report on the potential impacts of the investigations on the geological conditions and the environment; d. maps and plans; e. an indication of desired validity of the licence.
Art. 59 Investigation programme
The investigation programme must contain details concerning: a. the objectives of the investigations; b. the anticipated scope of the investigations; c. the starting date and expected duration of the investigations.
Art. 60 Geological report
The geological report must contain the following details: a. a description of the geology of the region concerned; b. a summary of geological investigations already carried out in the region concerned and accessible to the applicant, together with a summary of the findings obtained from such investigations; c. a description of the geological and hydro-geological factors that are decisive for the choice of the region concerned.
Art. 61 Exemptions from licensing obligation
1 The following geological investigations do not require a licence: a. seismic and other geophysical measurements, e.g. gravimetric, geoelectric and electromagnetic recordings; b. geological studies on the surface and in existing underground structures, including extraction of rock samples; c. collection of groundwater and well-water samples, measurements of wells, shallow piezometric measurements and marking tests; d. measurements of ground gases. 2 The above exemptions remain subject to any authorisations that may be required for the activities concerned in accordance with cantonal or federal legislation.
Section 5 Special Provisions for Deep Geological R
Art. 62 Application for a general licence
In addition to the application documents in accordance with Article 23, applicants for a general licence for a deep geological repository must also submit a report containing the following information: a. a comparison of available options from the point of view of safety of the planned repository; b. an evaluation of the decisive properties for the selection of the site; c. the costs of the repository.
Art. 63 Suitability criteria
The criteria to be specified in the general licence in accordance with Article 14 paragraph 1 letter f number 1 of the Nuclear Energy Act relate to: a. the extent of suitable host rock; b. the on-site hydro-geological conditions; c. the age of deep groundwater.
Art. 64 Elements of a deep geological repository
A deep geological repository comprises a main installation for the emplacement of the radioactive waste, a pilot installation and test areas.
Art. 65 Test areas
1 In test areas, the properties of the host rock of relevance to safety must be examined in depth in order to confirm the safety. 2 Before a deep geological repository may be put into operation, the technologies of relevance to safety must be tested and their functional capacity must be ascertained. This concerns in particular: a. the emplacement of backfill material; b. the removal of backfill material for the purpose of recovery of waste packages; c. the method of recovery of waste packages. 3 During the operation of the repository, the sealing of caverns and galleries must be tested and its functional capacity must be ascertained.
Art. 66 Pilot installation
1 In the pilot installation, the behaviour of waste, backfill material and host rock must be monitored until the expiry of the monitoring period. During monitoring, data must be collected in order to confirm long-term safety with a view to closure. 2 The obtained findings must be transferable to the processes going on in the main section. They form the basis for the decision on the closure of the repository. 3 The following principles must be observed in connection with the design of the pilot section: a. The geological and hydro-geological conditions must be comparable to those of the main section. b. The pilot section must be spatially and hydraulically separated from the main section. c. The construction of the pilot section and the emplacement procedure of waste and backfill material must correspond to those of the main section. d. The pilot section must contain a small but representative quantity of waste.
Art. 67 Backfilling
1 The owner of a deep geological repository must backfill the storage caverns and galleries after the waste packages have been emplaced. 2 Backfilling must be carried out in such a manner that long-term safety is assured and the recovery of the waste is possible without undue effort.
Art. 68 Monitoring period
1 The owner of a deep geological repository must describe in an up-dated project the planned measures for monitoring the repository after emplacement of the waste has been completed. He must also propose a duration for the monitoring period. 2 The Department orders the start of the monitoring period and specifies its duration. It may also extend this period as required.
Art. 69 Closure
1 When closing a deep geological repository, its owner must backfill all excavations of the repository and seal the sections relevant for long-term safety and security. 2 The closure project must describe the following aspects in particular: a. the backfilling and sealing of the accesses to the disposal areas; b. the transformation of the pilot section into a state suitable for long-term safety; c. the backfilling and sealing of the accesses to the repository; d. the assurance of long-term safety. 3 When closing the repository, the owner must in particular ensure: a. that no inadmissible release of radionuclides takes place via the backfilled accesses; b. that the separation of water-conducting rock layers existing prior to the construction of the deep geological repository is restored over the long-term; c. that the marking of the deep geological repository is permanent.
Art. 70 Protection zone
1 The protection zone of a deep geological repository must be defined on the basis of the report on long-term safety submitted with the licence application. The protection zone must encompass: a. all parts of the repository, including accesses; b. the rock volumes that provide the hydraulic containment of the repository; c. the rock volumes that significantly contribute to the retention of radionuclides that could be released from the repository over the course of time. 2 After issuing the general licence, the Federal Office shall request the relevant land registry to add the following note to the entries for the plots of land situated within the perimeter of the protection zone: «Provisional protection zone of a deep geological repository». After issuing the operating licence, the Federal Office shall request the relevant land registry to add the note, «Definitive protection zone for a deep geological repository». 3 The decision on the repeal of a provisional or definitive protection
Art. 71 Documentation
1 The owner of a deep geological repository must compile documentation that is suitable for securing information about the repository over the long term. 2 This documentation must contain the following: a. the location and extent of underground structures; b. an inventory of disposed radioactive waste by type, quantity and disposal area; c. the design of safety barriers, including sealing of accesses; d. the basis for and findings of the definitive analysis of long-term safety. 3 The owner must hand over all documentation to the Department after closure or on expiry of the additional monitoring period.
Art. 72 Use of geological data
1 The findings obtained from geological investigations or during the construction of a deep geological repository must be passed on to the Swiss Federal Geological Information Centre. 2 The latter and the person who is required to supply the information in accordance with paragraph 1 contractually regulate the conditions of access to and use of said data.
