Together with its partners Streule Consulting and Klaus Oegerle, the Risk Dialogue Foundation answered additional questions in the areas of health economy, neighbourhood effects and cumulative impacts.

The report “Answering additional questions on behalf of the Nördlich Lägern Regional Conference” shows the implications of a deep geological repository for the three areas of health management, neighbourhood effects and cumulative impacts. It shows measures for the phases of a deep geological repository (“discussion”, “construction”, “operation” and “closure”) to mitigate possible negative impacts.

Short summary:
The report answers the supplementary questions of the Nördlich Lägern Regional Conference on the impacts of a deep geological repository for radioactive waste on the health economy, neighbourhood effects and additional burdens. The aim was not to develop arguments for or against a deep geological repository, but to record the range of possible effects in an unbiased manner. By means of several rounds of interviews with different groups of people, measures were developed from the collection and evaluation of possible impacts that can be used to minimise the negative impacts of a deep geological repository. The 17 impacts extracted, such as deterioration of the image or negative effects of construction activity, and the 58 measures derived from them are general and deliberately. The most important measures for minimising possible negative effects of a deep geological repository are: Transparent, factual and open communication as well as proactive campaign measures to sharpen and profile the region (“marketing”, “branding”) with the aim of enabling the region to deal with negative effects. In order to implement the measures in a useful manner, continuous monitoring of further developments is necessary, as well as the elaboration and adaptation of the measures to the local conditions of the regions.