Transparency and traceability in the Site Selection Procedure – The BGE Repository Search Navigator

The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung –BGE) has the task of evaluating Germany’s subsurface to find the location with the best possible safety for a deep geological repository for high-level radioactive waste. In this role, and during the current phase of the Site Selection Procedure, BGE collects and interprets data from existing sources in order to identify siting regions for surface-based exploration. In this contribution, we focus on methods to create transparency of the decision process in terms of the proposed siting regions, using the “BGE Repository Search Navigator” as a newly developed web application.

In order to achieve the goal of a transparent decision process, BGE started developing the BGE Repository Search Navigator in summer 2022. The navigator is an interactive, multimedia, and browser-based application for public information. The aim of the application is to make the process of narrowing down the sub-areas, published with the sub-areas interim report in 2020, to a few best-suited siting regions visible and comprehensible. The application provides information on the status of processing, the reasons for classifying an area from unsuitable to best suitability, and the general geology. BGE will publish preliminary working statuses annually to ensure that the work progress of BGE remains transparent to the public.