Property Valuation and Radioactive Materials Transportation: A Legal, Economic and Public Perception Analysis

Conference · Wed Feb 26 04:00:00 EST 2003

OSTI ID:827119

Holm, J A; Thrower, A W; Widmayer, D A; Portner, W

The shipment of transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico raised a serious socioeconomic issue - the potential devaluation of property values due to the transportation of TRU waste from generator sites to the disposal facility. In 1992, the New Mexico Supreme Court held in City of Santa Fe v. Komis that a loss in value from public perception of risk was compensable. This issue has become an extremely important one for the development of the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada for disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Much research has been conducted about the potential impacts of transportation of spent fuel and radioactive waste. This paper examines the pertinent studies conducted since the Komis case. It examines how the public debate on radioactive materials transportation continues and is now focused on transportation of high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel to the proposed Yucca Mountain repository. Finally, the paper suggests a path forward DOE can take to address this issue.

• Research Organization: U.S. Department of Energy Albuquerque, New Mexico; Science Applications International Corporation Germantown, Maryland; Science Applications International Corporation Albuquerque, New Mexico (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• OSTI ID: 827119
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
ECONOMICS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
NEVADA
NEW MEXICO
NUCLEAR FUELS
PROPERTY VALUES
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SPENT FUELS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WIPP
YUCCA MOUNTAIN