In Hungary the use of atomic energy is governed by law (Act CXVI of 1996 on atomic energy, hereafter Atomic Act). In accordance with this Act, the control and supervision of the safety of applications is in the hand of the Government. The legal frame divides the basic regulatory tasks between the director-general of the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) and the minister in charge of health.

This book is the result of a collaboration that began over two years ago between researchers from the social sciences and Andra engineers and natural scientists. Contributions to the various chapters have been discussed and enhanced, especially during the workshop and the interdisciplinary conference both held by Andra in 2008 and 2009<br>respectively.

ARGONA is a project within the European Commission 6th framework programme. The overall objective was to support transparency of decision-making processes in the radioactive waste programmes of the participating countries, and also of the European Union, by means of a greater degree of public participation.

These proposed guidelines are recommendations that have emerged from the European Union Research Project ARGONA (Arenas for Risk Governance), Contract no.: FP6-036413

The point of departure for the ARGONA project is that participation and transparency are key elements of effective risk governance and the acronym ARGONA stands for &quot;Arenas for Risk Governance &quot;. Given the overall objectives, ARGONA intended to demonstrate how participation and transparency link to the political and legal systems and how new approaches can be implemented in radioactive waste management programmes.