Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety

The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety,, abbreviated BMUB, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn with a branch office in Berlin. The current minister of the environment is Barbara Hendricks, who assumed office on 17 December 2013.The ministry was established on 6 June 1986 in response to the Chernobyl disaster. The then Federal Government wanted to combine environmental authority under a new minister in order to face new environmental challenges more effectively. Prior to this responsibilities for environmental issues were distributed among the ministries of the Interior, Agriculture and Health.FunctionsThe ministry's primary functions include: Fundamental national environmental policy Informing and educating the public about environmental issues Environmental remediation and development in Eastern Germany Climate protection and energy Air quality control Noise abatement Conservation of groundwater, rivers, lakes and seas Soil conservation and remediation of contaminated sites Waste management and recycling policy Chemicals safety, environment and health Precautions against emergencies in industrial plants Protection, maintenance and sustainable utilization of biodiversity Safety of nuclear facilities Nuclear supply and disposal Radiological protection