The Management Of Canada S Nuclear Wastes

As oil reserves decline and the environment takes centre stage in public policy discussions, the merits and dangers of nuclear power and nuclear waste management are once again being debated. Nuclear Waste Management in Canada provides a critical counterpoint to the position of government and industry by examining not only the technical but also the social and ethical aspects of the issue. What do frequently used terms such as safety, risk, and acceptability really mean? And how and why did the public consultation process in Canada fail to address ethical and social issues? This timely collection defuses the uncertainty, ambiguity, and ignorance that surrounds discussions of nuclear energy.

Assesses the need for a national nuclear waste disposal program, with recommendations.

The theory of deliberative democracy promotes the creation of systems of governance in which citizens actively exchange ideas, engage in debate, and create laws that are responsive to their interests and aspirations. While deliberative processes are being adopted in an increasing number of cases, decision-making power remains mostly in the hands of traditional elites. In Democratic Illusion, Genevieve Fuji Johnson examines four representative examples: participatory budgeting in the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, Deliberative Polling by Nova Scotia Power Incorporated, a national consultation process by the Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and public consultations embedded in the development of official languages policies in Nunavut. In each case, measures that appeared to empower the public failed to challenge the status quo approach to either formulating or implementing policy. Illuminating a critical gap between deliberative democratic theory and its applications, this timely and important study shows what needs to be done to ensure deliberative processes offer more than the illusion of democracy.

High-level nuclear waste (HLW) is a controversial and risky issue. For the next 100 years, the HLW will be subject to policy decisions and value assessments. Physically safe, technologically stable, and socio-economically sustainable HLW-management will top the agenda. That must be accomplished in a society whose segments are both stable and in a rapid state of flux, under the influence of global as well as national factors, private interests as well as the vagaries of national politics. Among the challenges to be faced is how to codify responsibilities of nuclear industry, governments and international organisations, and any adopted management policy must attain legitimacy at the local, national, regional and global levels. All such considerations raise questions about the practical and theoretical knowledge. This special issue book will address these questions by exploring HLW-management in Canada, France, Germany, India, Sweden, the UK and the USA. Special emphasis will be placed on highlighting national context, current trends and uncertainties, with relevance to a socially sustainable contemporary and future HLW-management.

In accordance with the terms of reference announced in October 1989, the Environmental Assessment Panel has completed its review of nuclear fuel waste management and a disposal concept proposed by Atmomic Energy of Canada Limited.

This publication presents the proceedings of an OECD/NEA workshop, held in Canada in October 2002, which brought together delegates from 14 countries to discuss a range of public concerns and social considerations involved in nuclear waste management activities for local communities.