WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/DEU/13 
21 January 2011  
 (11-0359) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  GERMANY
  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:   
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety 
Unit RS II 1 S Robert-Schuman-Platz 3 
D  53175 Bonn 
Tel.:  +49 228 99 305 2910 Fax:  +49 228 99 305 3967 E-mail:  mailto:RSII1S@bmu.bund.de
; mailto:claudia.sonnek@bmu.bund.de  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :    
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10. 1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Certain gas glue lights 
(Gasglühstrümpfe); systems of li ghtning protection; certain glas sware; certain watches (for 
details see 6 and 7 below).  Consumer goods to which the radionuclide H-3 has been added 
(for details see 6 and 7 below). 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Erste Verordnung zur 
Änderung strahlenschutzr echtlicher Verordnungen (First Ordinance for the Modification of 
Ordinances relating to Radiation Pr otection) (52 pages, in German) 
6. Description of content:  The First Ordinance for the Modifi cation of Ordinances relating to 
Radiation Protection (herein refe rred to as: Ordinance) modifi es numerous existing provisions 
of the Radiation Protection Ordinance (Str ahlenschutzverordnung) of 20 July 2001 (Federal 
Law Gazette I page 1714), as last amended by Article 2 of the Act of 29 August 2008 
(Federal Law Gazette I page 1793), and of the X-Ray Ordinance (Röntgenverordnung), as 
amended and promulgated on 30 April 2001 (Federal  Law Gazette I page 604), in order to 
adapt to technical developments and, in general,  to improve radiation pr otection of man.  The 
Ordinance modifies the following regulations:  
Section 105 of the Radiation Protection Ordina nce:  Prohibited Addi tion of Radioactive 
Substances and Prohibited Activation G/TBT/N/DEU/13 
Page 2  
 
  This provision prohibits: 
• the addition of radioactive substances in the production of certain consumer goods;  
• the transboundary shipment of such goods according to Section 108; and 
• the introduction of such goods into trade. 
Additionally to the existing provisions, the fo llowing goods will in the future be covered by 
these prohibitions:  
• Gas glue lights (Gasglühstrümpfe), if not intended to be used for illumination of 
public streets; 
• Systems of lightning protecti on (Blitzschutzsysteme);  
• Glassware if contact of the product with foodstuffs cannot be excluded. 
Section 107 of the Radiation Protection Ordinanc e: Licensing Requirem ents for the Addition 
of Radioactive Substances and the Activation 
This provision lists the licensing requirements for the addition of radioactive substances in the 
production of consumer goods that are not pr ohibited by Section 105.  These requirements 
must also be fulfilled if the goods have been produced abroad and are imported to Germany.  
The modification concerns the requirements fo r the addition of the radionuclide H-3 in the 
production of consumer goods.  
Current Section 107 provides that if the value of the specific activity of an added radionuclide 
exceeds the value given in Appendix III, Tabl e 1, Column 5 (e. g. 1000 becquerel per gram 
for the radionuclide H-3), it must be assured:  
(1) that it has been stated in a return concep t that the consumer good can be returned free of 
charge to the applicant or to a body  designated by him after use; and  
(2) that the consumer good is provided with in formation explaining the addition of the 
radionuclide, the intended usag e and information referring to the return obligation and to 
the body required to accept the return. 
The First Ordinance for the Modification of Ordinances relating to Radiation Protection 
reduces the threshold value for the addition of the radionuclide H-3 in the production of 
consumer goods from 1000 to 100 becquere l per gram for which the abovementioned 
obligations on the return concept and on in formation apply (Section 107 paragraph 1 new 
sentence 2).  G/TBT/N/DEU/13 
 Page 3 
 
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable:  
Concerning Section 105:  The new provisions ai m to protect health.  Concerning gas glue 
lights, the prohibition aims to prevent contam ination of man and the environment due to non-
state-of-the-art handling.  Us e and discharge of these product s require knowledge about the 
hazard due to the radioactive substances, in particular about incorporation of and 
contamination by alpha-ra diating radionuclides.  However, th e use of gas glue lights, as 
existing in certain local munici palities, for illumination of publ ic streets will be allowed. 
Concerning systems of lightning protection, the prohibition intends to prevent contaminations 
due to the use of these systems.  These sy stems belong to the gr oup of so-called early 
streamer emission devices. They enhance the effi ciency of protection by pre-ionisation of the 
air in proximity of an arrester device (Fan geinrichtung).  For this purpose a radioactive 
substance – mostly Ra-226 or Am- 241 - is put on the top of the arre ster device. It is noted that 
early streamer emission devices are also available without radioactive substances. They are 
marketed worldwide. 
Concerning glassware, the use of products cont aining 10% uranium (referred to the total of 
the mass) can entail doses up to 40 µSv in case of  misuse or accident.  The constant use of a 
drinking glass containing uranium results into  a dose of about 20 µSv per calendar year. 
These dose values are beyond the dose value of 10 µSv per calendar year th at is allowed to be 
caused, according to the Radiation Protecti on Ordinance, by consumer goods containing 
radioactive substances.  
Concerning Section 107:  The new provision ai ms to improve radiation protection of the 
consumer in cases where the radionuclide H- 3 has been added to consumer goods - e.g. 
watches, navigation articles or key ring tags - for the purpose of illumination.  It takes into 
account recent research findings (see Safety Gu ide RS-G-1.7 "Application of the Concepts of 
Exclusion, Exemption and Clearance" by the International Atomic Energy Agency) on the level of radiation exposure of consumer s due to the use of goods containing H-3. 
8. Relevant documents:   Radiation Protection Ordinan ce (Strahlenschutzverordnung) of 
20 July 2001 (Federal Law Gazette I page 1714), as  last amended by Article 2 of the Act of 
29 August 2008 (Federal Law Gazette I page 1793);  X-Ray Ordinance (Röntgenverordnung), 
as amended and promulgated on 30 April 2001 (Federal Law Gazette I page 604). 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    April 2011 
July 2011 
10. Final date for comments:   60 days after date  of notification 
11. Text available from: National  enquiry point [ ], or address, telephone and fax numbers, 
e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:    
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety 
Unit RS II 1 S Robert-Schuman-Platz 3 D  53175 Bonn 
Tel.:  +49 228 99 305 2910 
Fax:  +49 228 99 305 3967 E-mail:  mailto:RSII1S@bmu.bund.de
; mailto:claudia.sonnek@bmu.bund.de  
Can also be downloaded from: http://members.wto.org/crna ttachments/2011/tbt/deu/11_0149_00_x.pdf