Guiding uncomfortable decisions: The divisive debate over nuclear waste storage

More than two decades have passed since the United States adopted a radioactive waste management and disposal plan set forth by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. That plan called for the safe and permanent disposal of high-level nuclear waste in a geologic repository. Since 1987, when Congress authorized the Department of Energy to develop plans for Yucca Mountain, Nevada as the repository site, a diverse set of stakeholders—including the federal government, the state of Nevada, scientists, environmentalists, Native American groups, government agencies including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Academy of Sciences, and citizens—have disputed the location and safety of the Yucca Mountain facility. The policy challenges of nuclear waste storage are complicated by unpredictable geological, population, and technological changes, a changing “public” over time, and the indefinite time horizon of storing the nuclear waste itself. Therefore, in this case, the definition of population health needs to be refined to not only include the uncertainty posed by time, but attempt to bridge the gap between science, policy, and the health and well-being of vested stakeholders.

This talk will explore how the conflict over Yucca Mountain developed; focusing on how the histories of stakeholders involved in this issue has made the construction of a high level nuclear waste storage facility a nearly insurmountable task. The talk will also discuss how the emerging field of public health ethics can provide a useful framework for understanding these issues and developing policies to address the unique population health challenges outlined above.