High-level radioactive wste management: a means to social consensus

Conference · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:6219387

Pierce, B; Hill, D; Haefele, E T

The problem of safely disposing of high-level radioactive waste is not new, but it is becoming more pressing as the temporary storage facilities of public utilities run out. The technical questions of how best to immobilize these wastes for many centuries have been studied for years and many feel that these problems are solved, or nearly so. Many states have set up roadblocks to the federal waste management program, however, and it is clear that social consensus must be reached for any waste disposal program to be successful. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 provides a long-needed framework for reaching this consensus, giving the states unprecedented access to federal decision-making. The rights of the states in a process of cooperation and consultation are clearly defined by the Act, but the means by which the states exercise those rights are left entirely to them. We examine the structures, methods, and goals open to the states, and recommend a rationale for the state decision process defining the roles of the governor and legislature.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA); Pennsylvania Univ., Philadelphia (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 6219387
• Report Number(s): BNL-32669; CONF-830523-4; ON: DE83008592
• Resource Relation: Conference: International conference on radioactive waste management, Seattle, WA, USA, 16 May 1983
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
DECISION MAKING
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
STATE GOVERNMENT
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
290600 - Energy Planning & Policy- Nuclear Energy