The role of bureaucratic expertise in nuclear waste policy: Agency power and policy development

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:5163551

Henkels, M

The role of agency expertise in the nuclear waste policy process is explored during three periods: (1) 1957-1959 when nuclear wastes entered the public agenda, (2) 1970-1972 when the Atomic Energy Commission attempted to establish a waste repository in Kansas, and (3) 1984-1986 during the Department of Energy's implementation of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. The study evaluated whether the preconditions for dependence on or deference to agency expertise have become less favorable, weakening agency control of the policy process. Five factors of expertise power are evaluated, beginning with the agency's role in the nuclear-energy and radioactive-waste information system. Perspectives on nuclear energy generally and of waste issues specifically are examined next; both indicate attitudes on the tractability of the problem and the likelihood of policy success. References to agency behavior and policies are used to evaluate views of agency competency. Finally, views of agency trustworthiness are examined through the comparison of portrayals of agency priorities and motivations. Agency expertise is evaluated in four contexts: (1) Congressional hearings, (2) nationally prominent newspapers, (3) journals of the scientific community, and (4) state and local papers of affected areas. State and tribal officials involved in the 1980s' nuclear waste policy process were surveyed also.

• Research Organization: Utah Univ., Salt Lake City, UT (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5163551
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052000* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Management
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290600 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
ATTITUDES
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
INFORMATION VALIDATION
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LAWS
MANAGEMENT
NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACTS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
TESTING
VALIDATION
WASTE MANAGEMENT