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Last changed: 29/10/12
Headquarters of the BfS in Salzgitter. Photo: BfSIn Estonia, in 2009 the Radiation Protection Centre (Kiirguskeskus) was integrated into the newly instituted Environmental Board (Keskkonnaamet) together with other environmental protection authorities. Against this backdrop, Estonia’s Ministry of Environment asked the German Federal Ministry for Environment (BMU) to provide advice and further training in Germany to executive staff of the radiation safety department of the new Environmental Board. Under the Advisory Assistance Programme the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), together with the Bavarian State Office of Environment (LfU) and Max Rubner Institute (MRI), organized a week of customized topic-specific study visits for three staff members of Estonia’s Environmental Board to focus on aspects of radiation protection relevant to Estonia.
The study visits took place at various BfS locations (Salzgitter, Oberschleißheim/Neuherberg, Berlin), at the LfU (Augsburg) and the MRI (Kiel, Schädtbek). Topics included:
The participants visited the control centre of the monitoring network of the Bavarian nuclear-reactor remote monitoring system, the radiation protection laboratory of the LfU and the BfS radon laboratory. At the MRI experimental site, they practiced how to take samples.
The training sessions enabled the Estonian decision-makers to decide on (also transnational) radiation protection issues on a better information basis in future. In terms of environmental policy the project contributed to the implementation of the Interdepartmental Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection signed with Estonia in 1992. The agreement committed the BMU to supporting Estonia in its efforts to strengthen environmental protection.