SOCIOECONOMIC STUDIES OF HIGH-LEVEL NUCLEAR WASTE-DISPOSAL

The socioeconomic investigations of possible impacts of the proposed r epository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, have been unprecedented in several respects. They bear on the public decis ion that sooner or later will be made as to where and how to dispose p ermanently of the waste presently at military weapons installations an d that continues to accumulate at nuclear power stations. No final dec ision has yet been made. There is no clear precedent from other countr ies. The organization of state and federal studies is unique. The stat e studies involve more disciplines than any previous efforts. They hav e been carried out in parallel to federal studies and have pioneered i n defining some problems and appropriate research methods. A recent an notated bibliography provides interested scientists with a compact gui de to the 178 published reports, as well as to relevant journal articl es and related documents.