THE LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE-WASTE SITING PROCESS IN CONNECTICUT - ANATOMY OF A FAILURE

The national policy to manage low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) from commercial nuclear power plants and other generators appears to be at a standstill with regard to siting new LLRW disposal facilities in the states. Regional compacts have been established and host states desig nated in most compacts, but the NIMBY problem has proved insurmountabl e. Connecticut has been added to the growing list of states that have experienced siting setbacks and failures. This case study describes an d analyzes the Connecticut expereince. We show that siting was deraile d by a technical-rationality approach that ignored the political dimen sions of siting until it was too late, and by the consequent and power ful NIMBY reaction that ensued. We consider the national LLRW policy d imensions of siting failures and suggest possible policy alternatives for siting LLRW disposal facilities.