The siting dilemma: Low-level radioactive waste disposal in the United States

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6968194

English, M R

The 1980 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act ushered in a new era in low-level waste disposal; one with vastly increased state responsibilities. By a 1985 amendment, states were given until January 1993 to fulfill their mandate. In this dissertation, their progress is reviewed. The focus then turns to one particularly intractable problem: that of finding technically and socially acceptable sites for new disposal facilities. Many lament the difficulty of siting facilities that are intended to benefit the public at large but are often locally unwanted. Many label local opposition as purely self-interested; as simply a function of the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) syndrome. Here, it is argued that epithets such as NIMBY are unhelpful. Instead, to lay the groundwork for widely acceptable solutions to siting conflicts, deeper understanding is needed of differing values on issues concerning authority, trust, risk, and justice. This dissertation provides a theoretical and practical analysis of those issues as they pertain to siting low-level waste disposal facilities and, by extension, other locally unwanted facilities.

• Research Organization: Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6968194
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290301 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety-- Regional & Global Environmental Aspects-- (1992-)
290600 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LAWS
LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SITE SELECTION
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL ACTS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES