Concerned public and the paralysis of decision-making: nuclear waste management policy in Germany

Efforts to site a high level nuclear waste repository in Germany date back to the 1960s. Ten years later the site Gorleben was officially selected and designated as a host for nuclear waste. However, public opposition and maneuvering by the major political actors prevented the completion of the site selection process, resulting in decades of political paralysis. The main reasons for this failure were the polarization in advocates and opponents of nuclear energy, the neglect for due process and participatory procedures, the inability to integrate technical, political, and social rationales in designing a viable nuclear waste policy, and the confusing mix of responsibilities between and among political actors. In spite of the apparent failure to find a solution for high level waste, the German government succeeded in designating a site for radioactive waste with negligible heat generation (Konrad mine). It is assumed that further progress in waste management can be accomplished only if more deliberative elements are introduced into the policy arena.