Public Concerns about LLRW Facility Siting

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A comparative analysis of public concerns about siting low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal facilities in the United States (specifically New York State), the United Kingdom, and Hungary was performed. The analysis was based on publicly expressed responses to LLRW siting processes, plans, or decisions in each country. A typology of public concerns was developed. There was a substantial similarity in the concerns expressed in all the three countries. Fifteen of the twenty concerns were observed in all three, and another two were shared by two. However, there were differences in the relative importance of the concerns and the nature of specific arguments. The results suggest that idiosyncratic economic, social, and political factors significantly influence the importance of various concerns and proposed alternative solutions to LLRW management.