The Politics of Radioactive Waste Disposal

This work examines the complex national and international approaches to radioactive waste disposal problems. The text also describes new methods of public accountability for disposal with regard to policy-makers and decision-makers. The book emphasizes that the hub of the problem lies in fundamentally differing perceptions of the risks associated with the disposal of nuclear waste. For the industry itself, the technical issues, although they create difficult practical problems for geologists and engineers, are clearly defined. The volumes and types of waste and their potential for harm to humans and the environment are better understood than for many other industries. The level of investment in financial and intellectual resources taken to close the "back end" of the nuclear industry has got it right. But many people remain unconvinced that the nuclear industry has got it right. True, there may well be a lack of understanding, but public perceptions of risk are driven as much by policy consistency, openness in an industry's activities and trust in the motives of those creating the hazard in the first place.
And the difficulty lies in the fact that public mistrust and perception of risk appear to be comparatively robust and resistant to change. To seek to change people's attitudes and opinions about the nuclear industry and radioactive waste disposal in particular is to address the problem from the wrong direction. If change is desired then it must come form the practices and procedures of the industry and from the process and accountability of government policy. Only then can public tolerability for radioactive waste disposal become more than just an academic notion. One unhelpful concept which academics have helped to establish in more common parlance is that of the "Not In My Back Yard" (NIMBY) response to controversial projects. The author argues that the NIMBY label should be avoided since it invariably undervalues many sincerely held public concerns about the potential harm to the local environment which can be associated with proposed developments.