SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF US NUCLEAR-WEAPONS FACILITIES - A LOCAL-SCALE ANALYSIS OF SAVANNA RIVER, 1950-1993

During the 1940s and 1950s, massive facilities were built in the Unite d States to design, construct and test nuclear weapons. What has been the impact of these facilities on the employment, income and populatio n of the surrounding areas? Doubt exists about whether the national se curity mission was good for the regions where the facilities were buil t, Using four counties adjacent to the 310-square mile Savannah River nuclear weapons site, we apply a method that estimates the impact by c omparing the growth of the counties to a set of counties that were sim ilar prior to the construction of the nuclear weapons facilities. This counterfactual method identified large increases in employment, incom e and population during the 1950s and the mid-1980s in two counties wi th weapons facilities. But no benefits and perhaps a negative impact a ppeared for a third county. The DOE and its contractors are dramatical ly reducing employment and budgets at Savannah River and other weapons sites. Employment at the site has fallen from over 25,000 in 1992 to less than 17,000 in 1996, It may drop to 8000 if no new 'missions' are created. Federal policy toward these regions is discussed in light of these intra-regional variations in economic impact. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.