Public participation at Hanford: A new approach to a long-lived problem.

摘要

In its 1993 report entitled ''Earning Public Trust and Confidence: Requisites for Managing Radioactive Waste,'' the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board noted, ''The legacy of distrust created by the Department's history and culture will continue for a long time to color public reaction to its radioactive waste management efforts.'' The report goes on to say, ''It is easier today to understand why (past) actions occurred than to excuse them ... Many portions of the public resent what was done and feel they were betrayed by an agency that was supposed to be looking after their best interests.'' The public involvement process used in the renegotiation of the Tri-Party Agreement was, by everyone's agreement, a major success for Hanford. People who had never trusted each other or worked together sat down at the table and created a document that may well guide Hanford into the future. Hanford will continue to build on the public involvement lessons learned from the Tank Waste Task Force as we launch our new Hanford Advisory Board. By bringing our stakeholders into the decisionmaking process, we believe Hanford is well on its way to forging a new partnership with the public -- one that will result in better decisions and speedier cleanup of the Hanford Site.