Technocracy and Trusts: Nuclear Waste Controversy

Abstract

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 requires the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a permanent nuclear waste repository. DOE is also required to conduct a program of consultation and cooperation with each of the effected states and Indian Tribes. The program is characterized by a pervasive lack of trust that threatens to undermine the intent of the act. Rather than addressing the technical issues of nuclear waste disposal, this paper explores the issue of trust itself. The paper concludes that the crisis over nuclear waste cannot be resolved through technological solutions alone. The crisis involves the relationship of a citizenry to its institutions of power. To address such a crisis, the subject of trust itself and its requirements must be seriously examined.