Comparative Analysis of Risk Characteristics of Nuclear Waste Repositories and Other Disposal Facilities

摘要

Three fundamental questions concerning public perception of the measurement of radioactive wastes were addressed in this report. The first question centered on the perceived importance of nuclear waste management as a public issue: how important is nuclear waste management relative to other technological and scientific issues; do different segments of the public disagree on its importance; the second question concerned public attitudes toward a nuclear waste disposal facility: how great a risk to health and safety is a nuclear waste disposal facility relative to other industrial facilities; is there disagreement on its riskiness among various public groups; the third question pertained to the aspects of risks that affect overall risk perception: what are the qualitative aspects of a nuclear waste disposal facility that contribute to overall perceptions of risk; do different segments of the population associate different risk characteristics with hazardous facilities. The questions follow from one another: is the issue important; given the importance of the issue, is the facility designed to deal with it considered risky; given the riskiness of the facility, why is it considered risky. Also addressed in this report, and a main focus of its findings, were the patterns of differences among respondent groups on each of these questions. (ERA citation 06:034949)