Selected chapters from:

High-Level Dollars, Low-Level Sense:

Chapter 1: Introduction

by: Arjun Makhijani and Scott Saleska

• Preface
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 3: Overview and Critique of the Current Approach to Radioactive Waste Management
• Chapter 5: Summary and Recommendations
• Table of Contents to the Full Report
• Bibliography and References
• Ordering Information

Chapter 1. Introduction

The management and disposal of long-lived radioactive wastes -- the great majority of which are the result of nuclear weapons production and commercial nuclear power generation -- has been a technical and political problem for many decades.

There are many types of radioactive wastes, varying in radioactivity level, longevity, and hazard. Much (although by no means all) radioactive waste is subsumed under two broad categories, named "high-level waste," and "low-level waste." The other principle categories of nuclear waste are transuranic waste, and uranium mill tailings. Although many of the attempts to address the "nuclear waste problem" have focused on one or another of the above categories, it is a principle thesis of this study that these categories are fundamentally misconceived, and that this misconception has led to many of the problems that continue to exist for nuclear waste disposal.

One common factor for all categories of nuclear waste is the presence of at least some amount of long-lived radionuclides. It is on the management and disposal of these most long-lived components that this study has focused, regardless of which official waste "category" such components happen to fall into.

In addition to examining the characteristics of some of the most hazardous and long-lived waste forms, we have also addressed the question of adequacy of the current policies for managing them. We identify fundamental problem areas in the technical, regulatory, and managerial aspects of present programs, and suggest an alternative structure to correct deficiencies in each of these areas.

To this end, this book is organized in the following manner. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the radioactive waste problem, including the origin of nuclear wastes, and the characteristics of each of the currently defined radioactive waste categories, along with the amounts and locations of the waste. Chapter 3 contains an explanation and critical analysis of the various components of the current approach to management of these wastes. Chapter 4 lays out our proposal for an alternative, integrated approach to waste management that addresses many of the deficiencies and shortcomings which we identify in Chapter 3. Finally, our findings and recommendations are summarized in Chapter 5.

• Preface
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 3: Overview and Critique of the Current Approach to Radioactive Waste Management
• Chapter 5: Summary and Recommendations
• Table of Contents to the Full Report
• Bibliography and References
• Ordering Information

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