The Environmental and Ethical Basis of the Geological
Disposal of Long-Lived Radioactive Waste
Collective Opinion of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee
As part of its continuing review of the general situation in the field
of radioactive waste management, and with particular reference to the
extensive discussions at the recent NEA Workshop on Environmental and
Ethical Aspects of Radioactive Waste Disposal [1],
the RWMC reassessed the basis for the geological disposal strategy from
an environmental and ethical perspective at its Special Session in March
1995. In particular, the RWMC focussed its attention on fairness and
equity considerations:
- between
generations (intergenerational equity), concerning the responsibilities
of current generations who might be leaving potential risks and burdens
to future generations; and
- within
contemporary generations (intragenerational equity), concerning the
balance of resource allocation and the involvement of various sections
of contemporary society in a fair and open decision-making process
related to the waste management solutions to be implemented.
After
a careful review of the environmental and ethical issues, as presented
later and discussed in detail in the proceedings of the NEA Workshop,
the members of the NEA Radioactive Waste Management Committee:
- consider
that the ethical principles of intergenerational and intragenerational
equity must be taken into account in assessing the acceptability of
strategies for the long-term management of radioactive wastes;
- consider
that from an ethical standpoint, including long-term safety considerations,
our responsibilities to future generations are better discharged by
a strategy of final disposal than by reliance on stores which require
surveillance, bequeath long-term responsibilities of care, and may
in due course be neglected by future societies whose structural stability
should not be presumed;
- note
that, after consideration of the options for achieving the required
degree of isolation of such wastes from the biosphere, geological
disposal is currently the most favoured strategy;
- believe
that the strategy of geological disposal of long-lived radioactive
wastes:
- takes
intergenerational equity issues into account, notably by applying
the same standards of risk in the far future as it does to the
present, and by limiting the liabilities bequeathed to future
generations; and
- takes
intragenerational equity issues into account, notably by proposing
implementation through an incremental process over several decades,
considering the results of scientific progress; this process will
allow consultation with interested parties, including the public,
at all stages;
- note
that the geological disposal concept does not require deliberate provision
for retrieval of wastes from the repository, but that even after closure
it would not be impossible to retrieve the wastes, albeit at a cost;
- caution
that, in pursuing the reduction of risk from a geological disposal
strategy for radioactive wastes, current generations should keep in
perspective the resource deployment in other areas where there is
potential for greater reduction of risks to humans or the environment,
and consider whether resources may be used more effectively elsewhere;
Keeping
these considerations in mind, the Committee members:
- confirm
that the geological disposal strategy can be designed and implemented
in a manner that is sensitive and responsive to fundamental ethical
and environmental considerations;
- conclude
that it is justified, both environmentally and ethically, to continue
development of geological repositories for those long-lived radioactive
wastes which should be isolated from the biosphere for more than a
few hundred years; and
- conclude
that stepwise implementation of plans for geological disposal leaves
open the possibility of adaptation, in the light of scientific progress
and social acceptability, over several decades, and does not exclude
the possibility that other options could be developed at a later stage.
Report Navigation
Foreword
The
Environmental and Ethical Basis of the Geological Disposal of Long-lived
Radioactive Waste
Collective
Opinion of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee
Ethical
and Environmental Considerations in the Long-term Management of Radioactive
Wastes
Ethical
and Environmental Background to the Management of Waste
The
Radioactive Waste Management Responsibility
The
Geological Disposal Strategy for Radioactive Waste
References
Annexes
I:
IAEA Safety Fundamentals:
The Principles of Radioactive Waste Management
II:
Executive Summary of the Previous International
Collective Opinion on Safety Assessments
III:
List of Members of the Radioactive Waste Management Committee
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