High-Activity Nuclear Waste Management Policy: Becoming a Responsible Ancestor

High-Activity Nuclear Waste Management Policy: Becoming a Responsible Ancestor describes the technical, social, and political challenges of developing a deep-mined, geologic repository for high-activity nuclear waste.It emphasizes how the technical estimates of repository performance affect non-technical considerations, such as trust and risk perceptions, and how those considerations in turn affect the technical determinations. Unlike other democracies with mature nuclear power programs, the United States lacks a permanent management plan for its high-activity radioactive waste.This book analyzes how the Unuted States reached this negligent position and examines how eight other countries have addressed five critical waste management activities: establishing management organizations, selecting a repository site, executing phased repository development, licensing a repository, and addressing technical controversies.It concludes with recommendations for reconstituting an effective waste m