Dilemma of Siting a High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository

This study explores the dilemma of siting a high-level nuclear waste (HLNW) repository. It examines siting conflicts from a variety of perspectives - political, psychological, and sociological - and identifies the fundamental determinants of public opposition to waste disposal facilities as a means of designing more effective approaches to solving the typical siting dilemma. In assessing the causes of public opposition, the book draws on various surveys of attitudes toward the repository as a function of predictors such as perceptions of risk, benefits, and fairness. Exploring the factors that underlie public opposition to a repository enables one to understand why current siting efforts have failed. More importantly, the data are useful in defining what new strategies might be effective in obtaining public consent for a HLNW storage facility. Finally, the book focuses on the problems associated with siting a HLNW repository. The analysis of public opposition and the recommendations made for successful siting can be generalized to almost any attempt to site a noxious facility.