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The long-term governance of radioactive waste continues to be a major complex and unresolved socio-technical issue. Previous technocratic approaches have so far failed. This empirically based study provides a novel approach to complementing technical expertise and economic/political power with stakeholder involvement. Inclusive participation is shown to be an asset that strengthens the processes, enhances robustness and facilitates sustainable decision making, thus adding value for all involved.

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Preface. Summary. Introduction.
Part I: Overall Issue and Methodology. 1. Setting And Topics At Issue. 2. Objectives And Aim. 3. Research Political Embedding. 4. Issues Under Investigation, Evidence And Validation.
Part II: Perspective ´From Below´: Risk Perception of The Public. 5. Insights From Risk Perception Research. 6. Risk Perception In Radioactive Waste Issues.
Part III: Perspective ´From Above´: Decision Processes. 7. Insights From Decision Science. 8. Development Of Decision Making In Technical Systems. 9. Decisions In Radioactive Waste Management. 10. Siting As An Example Of Sub-Optimum Decision-Making.
Part IV: Conclusions and Further Development. 11. Patterns Of Arguments In Radioactive Waste Governance. 12. Fundamentals Of A Comparison Of Disposition Options. 13. Proposal For A Concept Of An Overall System Robustness.
References. Index.

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From the reviews:

"Flüeler provides one of the most extensive bibliographies, which he conveniently organizes into a number of useful categories for those who are conducting research in this area. His extensive experience with how this issue was dealt with in Switzerland over a 50-y period along with examples from a variety of other countries is well documented. ... This text would be valuable for those specialists who are directly involved in dealing with the issue of radioactive waste ... ." (Stewart, Health Physics, Vol. 93 (2), 2007)

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The long-term governance of radioactive waste continues to be a major complex and contentious socio-technical issue worldwide. Traditionally, it has been considered as mainly a challenge to scientists and engineers to develop technical "solutions" to specific problems. But increasingly these narrow solutions have been enlarged by wider societal considerations such as ethics, public involvement, control and retrievability - needs that have in the meanwhile been recognized by the nuclear community. This book, analyzes motives for a broad discourse as well as suggest prerequisites to launch it. The author attempts to give a novel, empirically based and technically sound treatment of fundamental issues in long-term management and governance. Written to be accessible to a wide selection of the interested public, the study proposes a combination of technical design issues, analysis methods and institutional backup in a dynamic procedure, and with involvement at all levels of political, commercial and social life.

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