SOCIAL DISTRUST: IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATION FOR SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND HIGH LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT

The management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and defense high level waste (HLW) is a complex sociotechnical
systems challenge. Coordinated, reliable, and safe performance will be required over very long
periods of time within evolving social and technical contexts. To accomplish these goals, a waste
management system will involve a host of facilities for interim storage and longterm disposal, a
transportation infrastructure, and research and development centers. The complexity of SNF and HLW
management will also require an array of institutions and procedures. Waste management is multiinstitutional,
comprising multiple private companies and sectors (e.g., commercial nuclear utilities,
trucking and railway companies), multiple government agencies at different levels (local, state, national),
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other institutional stakeholders, as well as citizens. At the
moment, experience of how this will work is limited. We are in the realm of social experimentation with
institutional arrangements and procedures.