Looking back on safe^ND 2025: BASE research symposium

From September 17 to 19, 2025, the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE) hosted the third Interdisciplinary Research Symposium on the Safety of Nuclear Disposal Practices (safe^ND).

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Overview of programme and abstracts

Under the theme “Time as a Safety Factor: Opportunities and Challenges of Timely Nuclear Waste Disposal,” the safeND symposium took place for the third time from September 17 to 19 at the Radialsystem in Berlin. This year, the event once again focused on international and interdisciplinary exchange regarding the current state of research in the field of nuclear waste disposal. A total of 350 participants from 18 countries attended.

Key topic of safe^ND 2025

safe^ND2025 took place in Berlin from September 17 to 19, with the following main theme: “Time as a safety factor: opportunities and challenges of timely nuclear waste disposal.”

The development and implementation of concepts for the disposal of nuclear waste that ensure long-term safety is a complex socio-technical challenge that requires, in particular, extensive geological exploration, engineering research, numerical simulation, and long-term public awareness.

However, the technical weaknesses of such a disposal concept are not the only risks to society. It is essential that timely implementation be considered as a central safety factor. The urgency of the safety factor of time stems not only from the fact that the radioactivity of nuclear waste is currently at its highest and decays over time, but also from the fact that high-level radioactive waste is currently stored above ground in most parts of the world.

This above-ground storage makes this waste vulnerable to various geopolitical threats, including military conflicts, radical changes in existing political institutions, and the consequences of climate change. The overarching question of the event was therefore: How can we adequately account for the time factor when assessing the safety of nuclear waste management programs?

Video footage of safe^ND2025

Prof. Dr. Harald Leschs Redebeitrag über die Herausforderungen der nuklearen Entsorgung auf der safeND 2025.

On the BASE YouTube channel, you can find all the video recordings from safeND 2025. Here are the highlights of the event, including opening remarks by the BASE president, selected panel discussions, and presentations.

Photo Gallery for safe^ND 2025

A banner welcomes guests to safeND 2025 at Radialsystem Berlin. © BASE

Participants were registered in the reception area. Approximately 350 people from 18 countries attended safeND 2025. © BASE

A large, industrial-style event space with wooden floors, where numerous people are standing in groups and chatting. In the foreground, tables covered in white linens and adorned with yellow floral arrangements are lined up. — Get-together: A chance to meet new people and network © BASE

A speaker stands at a lectern on a stage and speaks into a microphone. Behind him, a presentation slide with the title “BASE Research Agenda 2025–2028” is displayed. — Jochen Ahlswede, Head of Research and Long-Term Documentation, speaks about the BASE research agenda. © BASE

A large screen displays a video of Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch. He speaks directly to the camera and emphasizes his points with hand gestures. The stage is designed to reflect the theme of the symposium, “safeND 2025 – Time as a Safety Factor.” — Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch addressed the participants via a video message. © BASE

A portrait of Andrew Stirling during an enthusiastic presentation. He is wearing a gray blazer over a blue shirt and holding a pointer in his right hand. — Andrew Stirling of the University of Sussex during his presentation at safeND. © BASE

Panel discussion with Anna Storm (Linköping University, Sweden), Sönke Reiche (Federal Agency for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Germany), Christoph Hamann (Federal Agency for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste, Germany), Allison Macfarlane (University of British Columbia, Canada), Kai Hämäläinen (STUK – Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Finland) (from left to right) © BASE

A portrait of Klaus-Jürgen Röhlig standing at a white lectern and speaking. He is wearing a blue jacket, a light blue shirt, and glasses — Klaus-Jürgen Röhlig of Clausthal University of Technology during his presentation at the safeND. © BASE

A portrait of Dörte Fouquet standing on a stage. She is wearing a gray top, has pushed her glasses up into her hair, and is holding some papers and a tablet under her arm. — Dörte Fouquet of Leuphana University Lüneburg during a discussion at safeDN 2025. © BASE

A group photo taken on the conference stage shows the entire BASE team that helped make the event a success. The group consists of about 25 people, including department heads, moderators, volunteers, and other staff members. — Group photo of the BASE organizing team for safeND 2025. © BASE

Outlook: safe^ND 2027 & Young Scientists Award

BASE is planning the next edition of the research symposium for October 6–8, 2027. As part of this fourth safe^ND, the Young Scientists Award will be presented for the first time. The award will be given to a young researcher whose thesis (ranging from a bachelor’s thesis to a doctoral dissertation) is related to nuclear safety.

Scientific Committee

A scientific committee advised BASE on the selection of submissions from the Call for Contributions and on the compilation of the program. The members of the scientific committee were:

Dr. Carla-Olivia Krauß, Institute of Technology and Management in Construction, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
Dr. Petra Tjitske Kalshoven, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Manchester, UK
Dr. Florence-Nathalie Sentuc, Gesellschaft für Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH, Germany
Dr. Holger Völzke, Safety of Storage Containers Division, Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Germany
Prof. Dr. Barbara Reichert, Institute for Geosciences, University of Bonn, Germany; Chair of Nuclear Waste Management Commission (ESK), Germany
Dr. Jens Birkholzer, Energy Geosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA
Dr. Tim Vietor, Safety, Geology & Radioactive Materials Division, National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (NAGRA), Switzerland
Dr. Bo Strömberg, Unit for plant safety assessment, Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM), Sweden
Prof. Dr. Ulrike Felt, Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Vienna, Austria
Dr. Catrinel Turcanu, Science, Technology and Society, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK CEN), Belgium
Prof. Dr. Anna Storm, Department of Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Sweden
Dr. Luca Abele Piciaccia, Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (DSA), Norway
Dr. Markku Lehtonen, Department of Humanities, University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona, Spain
Prof. Susan Molyneux-Hodgson, Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology, University of Exeter, UK
Prof. Dr. Dörte Fouquet, Sustainability Law – Energy, Resources, Environment, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany
Dr. Nikolaus Müllner, Institute of Safety and Risk Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna
Prof. Allison M. Macfarlane, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver

Looking back on safeND 2025: BASE research symposium

Key topic of safeND 2025

Video footage of safeND 2025

Photo Gallery for safeND 2025

Outlook: safeND 2027 & Young Scientists Award