Social Distrust: Implications and Recommendation for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High Level Radioactive Waste Management

This review develops recommendations for moving forward with SNF and HLW management in a context of social distrust, while also working to regain social trust over the long term. We begin with a short overview of social trust and confidence, including definitions, how it is built and destroyed, and trends in social trust in the US. We then turn to the implications of dilemmas and trade-offs that arise for the design and implementation of a system that has requirements in addition to trust and confidence. Finally, before presenting recommendations, we discuss requirements for a SNF and HLW waste management system to obtain social and political acceptability and to exhibit a high degree of technical competence in conditions of social distrust.