Inter-generational Decision Making for Radioactive Waste Disposal, Policy and Science: Regulatory Protection Forever?
Conference
·
OSTI ID:21208712
- U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., Washington, D.C. 20585 (United States)
Assumptions about this generation's duty to future generations underlie decisions on regulatory requirements for disposal of radioactive waste. Regulatory provisions related to time of compliance, dose criteria, and institutional controls, for example, continue to be topics of discussion as regulations are revised or compared. Subjective and difficult ethical issues are either explicit or implicit in these discussions. The information and criteria used must be relevant and help make good decisions that, ideally, increase the overall welfare of future generations. To what extent can or should science usefully inform such decision-making? Both the National Academies of Science and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) have reported on this topic, albeit from different viewpoints. This paper explains and expands upon the rationale used for setting compliance time periods such as the Department of Energy's requirement for a 1,000 year time of compliance with dose limits for low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities. It evaluates radioactive waste disposal against principles of equity recommended by NAPA. Radioactive waste disposal standards require evaluation of impacts much farther into the future than has been common for other endeavors with very long term effects. While performance assessment analyses provide much useful information, their inherent uncertainties over long time periods preclude the projection of reality. Thus, the usefulness of extremely long projections in supporting good decisions that promote the welfare of future generations is limited. Such decisions are fundamentally a question of resource allocation, equity, and fairness. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21208712
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US--09-WM-06246
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
On intergenerational equity and its clash with intragenerational equity and on the need for policies to guide the regulation of disposal of wastes and other activities posing very long-term risks
Screening, combining and tracking features, events and processes in WIPP performance assessments
Critical groups for geological disposal performance assessments
Journal Article
·
Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1999
· Risk Analysis
·
OSTI ID:20005457
Screening, combining and tracking features, events and processes in WIPP performance assessments
Technical Report
·
Sat Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1996
·
OSTI ID:405231
Critical groups for geological disposal performance assessments
Technical Report
·
Sat Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1996
·
OSTI ID:405232