This report puts forth a number of options and recommendations for how to engage
stakeholders and other members of the public in the storage and management of spent
nuclear fuel and high level waste in the United States. The options are generated from a
scientific review of existing publications proposing criteria for assessing past efforts to
engage publics and stakeholders in decision-making about risky technologies. A set of
nine principles are derived for evaluating cases of public and stakeholder engagement with

This report puts forth a number of options and recommendations for how to engage
stakeholders and other members of the public in the storage and management of spent
nuclear fuel and high level waste in the United States. The options are generated from a
scientific review of existing publications proposing criteria for assessing past efforts to
engage publics and stakeholders in decision-making about risky technologies. A set of
nine principles are derived for evaluating cases of public and stakeholder engagement with

The Blue Ribbon Commission staff requested this paper cataloging innovative stakeholder involvement programs within the Department of Energy (DOE). I reviewed a variety of material on public involvement, including papers and presentations on stakeholder involvement in DOE programs, published presentations and comments to the BRC, and research reports on stakeholder and public involvement.

This report puts forth a number of options and recommendations for how to engage
stakeholders and other members of the public in the storage and management of spent
nuclear fuel and high level waste in the United States. The options are generated from a
scientific review of existing publications proposing criteria for assessing past efforts to
engage publics and stakeholders in decision-making about risky technologies. A set of
nine principles are derived for evaluating cases of public and stakeholder engagement with

The work reported here is an investigation of the sensitivity of component temperatures in a specific storage system, including fuel cladding temperatures, in response to modeling assumptions that differ from design-basis, including age-related changes that could degrade the thermal behavior of the system. Preliminary evaluations of representative horizontal and vertical storage systems at design basis conditions provides general insight into the expected behavior of storage systems over extended periods of time.

The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) acts as a centre for informed exchange of knowledge and experience regarding stakeholder interaction and public participation in radioactive waste management. It promotes an open discussion among members and stakeholders, across institutional boundaries, and between technical and non-technical actors, in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. As such, the FSC is, first and foremost, a learning organisation.