Original scientific paper
The Uncleasing Dilemma Between Nuclear Technology and Nuclear Waste: Nuclear Waste Management in the United States
John J. Stucker
; Associate Professor of Goverment, University of South Carolina, Executive Director, S. C. Governor's Nuclear Advisory
Abstract
Nuclear technology has been used in the United States for the generation of electric power, the production of weapons, and in a variety of medical, research and industrial applications. The failure to solve the problem of nuclear waste disposal has, thus far, impacted most strongly on the nuclear power industry. The absence of a solution has interacted with and compounded the basic problems of the nuclear power industry.
The nuclear power industry has suffered a number of set backs in recent years in the United States. The accident at Three Mile Island focused public concerns on the cost and safety of nuclear power. A decade of inflation, driven largely by sharp increases in energy costs, has severely strained the financial condition of many utilities. After a period of rapid expansion, the nuclear power industry has experienced a substantial retrenchment as more and more planned capacity is canceled. Finally, public skepticism about the nature and extent of an »energy crisis« has undercut the claim that nuclear power is essential to the future energy security of the United States.
The need to address these problems has complicated recent efforts to resolve the nuclear waste problem, while the failure to achieve a disposal solution further undermines public support for nuclear power.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
155873
URI
Publication date:
31.12.1982.
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