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Managing Nuclear Waste from Power Plants

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  • Ralph L. Keeney
  • Detlof von Winterfeldt

Abstract

National strategies to manage nuclear waste from commercial nuclear power plants are analyzed and compared. The current strategy is to try to operate a repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to dispose of high‐level nuclear waste underground. The main alternatives involve temporary above‐ground storage at a centralized facility or next to nuclear power plants. If either of these is pursued now, the analysis assumes that a repository will be built in 2100 for waste not subsequently put to use. The analysis treats various uncertainties: whether a repository at Yucca Mountain would be licensed, possible theft and misuse of the waste, innovations in repository design and waste management, the potential availability of a cancer cure by 2100, and possible future uses of nuclear waste. The objectives used to compare alternatives include concerns for health and safety, environmental and socioeconomic impacts, and direct economic costs, as well as equity concerns (geographical, intergenerational, and procedural), indirect economic costs to electricity ratepayers, federal government responsibility to manage nuclear waste, and implications of theft and misuse of nuclear waste. The analysis shows that currently building an underground repository at Yucca Mountain is inferior to other available strategies by the equivalent of $10,000 million to $50,000 million. This strongly suggests that this policy should be reconsidered. A more detailed analysis using the framework presented would help to define a new national policy to manage nuclear waste.

Suggested Citation

  • Ralph L. Keeney & Detlof von Winterfeldt, 1994. "Managing Nuclear Waste from Power Plants," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(1), pages 107-130, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:riskan:v:14:y:1994:i:1:p:107-130
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.1994.tb00033.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ralph L. Keeney, 1987. "An Analysis of the Portfolio of Sites to Characterize for Selecting a Nuclear Repository," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(2), pages 195-218, June.
    2. Miley W. Merkhofer & Ralph L. Keeney, 1987. "A Multiattribute Utility Analysis of Alternative Sites for the Disposal of Nuclear Waste," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(2), pages 173-194, June.
    3. Keeney,Ralph L. & Raiffa,Howard, 1993. "Decisions with Multiple Objectives," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521438834.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ichiro Nishizaki & Hideki Katagiri & Tomohiro Hayashida, 2010. "Sensitivity analysis incorporating fuzzy evaluation for scaling constants of multiattribute utility functions," Central European Journal of Operations Research, Springer;Slovak Society for Operations Research;Hungarian Operational Research Society;Czech Society for Operations Research;Österr. Gesellschaft für Operations Research (ÖGOR);Slovenian Society Informatika - Section for Operational Research;Croatian Operational Research Society, vol. 18(3), pages 383-396, September.
    2. Patrick Ilg & Silke Gabbert & Hans‐Peter Weikard, 2017. "Nuclear Waste Management under Approaching Disaster: A Comparison of Decommissioning Strategies for the German Repository Asse II," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 37(7), pages 1213-1232, July.
    3. Héctor A. Múnera & María B. Canal & Mauricio Muñoz, 1997. "Risk Associated with Transportation of Spent Nuclear Fuel Under Demanding Security Constraints: The Colombian Experience," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 381-389, June.
    4. George E. Apostolakis & Susan E. Pickett, 1998. "Deliberation: Integrating Analytical Results into Environmental Decisions Involving Multiple Stakeholders," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(5), pages 621-634, October.
    5. Rex V. Brown, 2005. "Logic and Motivation in Risk Research: A Nuclear Waste Test Case," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(1), pages 125-140, February.
    6. Donald L. Keefer & Craig W. Kirkwood & James L. Corner, 2004. "Perspective on Decision Analysis Applications, 1990–2001," Decision Analysis, INFORMS, vol. 1(1), pages 4-22, March.
    7. Alec Morton & Mara Airoldi & Lawrence D. Phillips, 2009. "Nuclear Risk Management on Stage: A Decision Analysis Perspective on the UK's Committee on Radioactive Waste Management," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 764-779, May.
    8. Doug Easterling, 1997. "The Vulnerability of the Nevada Visitor Economy to a Repository at Yucca Mountain," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(5), pages 635-647, October.

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