Issue 3 / 2012 of the ITAS-journal "Technikfolgenabschätzung - Theorie und Praxis" (TATuP) has been published [21.01.2013]

The disposal of radioactive wastes is a difficult-to-solve socio-technical problem and has been so for years. The straightforward implementation of a maintenance-free repository, in which highly-active wastes could be safely isolated from the environment, is a far more difficult task than many actors anticipated. Currently, issues such as retrievability and the necessity of technical monitoring activities, implemented in a transparent manner, are being discussed. Monitoring the behaviour of the wastes during the operating phase of the repository is considered to be a central part of a high-quality inspection. Planning for such a high-quality monitoring concept – particularly in the case of highly-active wastes – is a great challenge, not only for technology assessment. The thematic focus of the current issue of TATuP offers a thorough overview of the current discussion on this topic.

Under the heading "TA-projects", the following research projects are presented: Erich Griessler and Peter Biegelbauer present results from the project CIT-PART , in which participatory and expert-based TA was analysed and compared between different EU-countries. Michael Nentwich and Ulrich Riehm describe the projects "TA Portal" and "openTA" aiming each to establish an online-portal addressing the international TA-community, and reflect on potential competition and synergies of both efforts. Finally Christopher Coenen and Arianna Ferrari discuss the results of the project EPOCH on Human Enhancement.