The search for a disposal site attracts attention from social science research

Academic findings on current sociological developments are an important prerequisite for determining opportunities for public participation in the search for a disposal site. The Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BfE) has therefore launched a research project on this topic; it is designed to pool this knowledge and assess the findings for its own work.

The BfE is coordinating and supervising the search for a disposal site for high-level radioactive waste and is the body responsible for public participation. The research project is taking place under the title “Public participation in the search for a disposal site: challenges posed by a cross-generational, self-scrutinising and learning process”. The project is set to run for two years.

The special challenge: the duration and complexity of the procedure to find a disposal site

Both the duration of the search procedure and the complexity of the issue of disposal create special challenges for all those involved. They range between the need to ensure the greatest possible participation in the process and the goal of finding a disposal site quickly. The research project will therefore focus on how to best organise dialogue-oriented participation with a view to achieving the goal of finding a “disposal site”.

Work packages in the research project

The research project will tackle the current state of research on participation procedures that involve similar challenges during the first stage. Building on this, conclusions for participation in the site selection procedure will be drawn. The project will also examine the issue of how the statutory requirement for a self-scrutinising and learning procedure can be met. The contracting party in the project will also draw up future scenarios for disposal, which can support a constructive debate in society on the site selection procedure.

Workshops with experts are also planned during the course of the research project in order to discuss intermediate results and pool the findings gained from science, civil society, administration, companies and politics.