One result was that the economic situation in the example regions was
classified as stable in the short and medium terms, even after shutdown of
the NPPs. The storage facility itself was not considered to contribute to
economic development. However, it was also not seen as an obstacle to future
development, which is seen more in the commercial–industrial sector.
Monitoring in Switzerland also showed that the siting regions had not
experienced any negative development in terms of population growth,
employment, or real estate prices.
The storage facility was perceived as safe by interviewees at the two sites.
However, questions remained, e.g., why different construction concepts were
chosen or how the ageing of casks and inventories should be addressed in the
future. These are questions that are also repeatedly asked at events.
Relocation of the waste to another, e.g., central storage facility was not
the focus. However, most of the data collection took place before the Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH (BGE; Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal) schedules were announced at the end of 2022.
For the procedural design of future licensing processes, the interviewees in
the sample regions expect comprehensive public participation. Difficulties,
e.g., in access to information, as happened in past approval processes,
should not be repeated. However, the interest in the region in the topic of storage being rather low was also discussed. An information gap was
identified between the siting community and the surrounding area, but also
between non-governmental organizations and the public.
Based on these results, a first evaluation approach was developed to
investigate the significance of the storage facility for spent fuel elements
for the respective region. For this purpose, characteristics for description
were assigned to the three dimensions identified: economy and society,
perception of safety, and procedural design. These were underpinned by
indicators and concrete questions for operationalization.
