Germany’s Site Selection Act mandates long-term safety (1 million years) for high-level radioactive waste repositories. This requires assessing volcanic hazards over geological timescales. Regions with such risks must be excluded from site selection. The Quaternary volcanic fields of the Eifel and Vogtland are examples of subrecent activity relevant to evaluating future volcanic potential in Germany.

Modelling plays a crucial role in the design of a repository for radioactive waste. The human factor is significant for finding a site with the best possible safety. Human aspects include the selection of models, the definition of input parameters, and the interpretation of results. The AHRIC (Assessment of Human Reliability in Concept phases) method is proposed to assess the negative effects of trust issues in the site selection work processes and to derive mitigating measures.