THE INTERNATIONAL POLITICS OF NUCLEAR WASTE Also by Andrew Blowers THE LIMITS OF POWER SOMETHING IN THE AIR THE FUTURE OF CITIES (editor with C. Hamnett and P. Sarre) INEQUALITIES, CONFLICT AND CHANGE (editor with G. Thompson) URBAN CHANGE AND CONFLICT (editor with C. Brook, L. McDowell, P. Dunleavy) NUCLEAR POWER IN CRISIS (editor with D. Pepper) Also by David Lowry ISSUES IN THE SIZEWELL 'B' INQUIRY (editor with Ian Gamble, in six volumes) Also by Barry D. Solomon GEOGRAPHICAL DIMENSIONS OF ENERGY (editor with Frank J. Calzonetti) The International Politics of Nuclear Waste Andrew Blowers Professor of Social Sciences The Open University David Lowry Visiting Research Fellow, Energy and Environment Research Unit The Open University Barry D. Solomon Energy Policy Analyst, Global Climate Change Program US Environmental Protection Agency Palgrave Macmillan © Andrew Blowers, David Lowry, Barry D. Solomon 1991 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1991 All rights reserved. For information, write: Scholarly and Reference Division, St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 First published in the United States of America in 1991 ISBN 978-0-333-49364-9 ISBN 978-1-349-21246-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-21246-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Blowers, Andrew. The international politics of nuclear waste I Andrew Blowers, David Lowry, Barry D. Solomon. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-06022-0 1. Radioactive waste disposal—Government policy. 2. Radioactive waste disposal—Environmental aspects. 1. Lowry, David, 1956- . II. Solomon, Barry D. (Barry David), 1955- . III. Title. TD898.14.G68B56 1991 363.17'99—dc20 90-24280 CIP For Gill, Rosalind and Diana and to the future generations who inherit our legacy Contents Acknowledgements viii List of Acronyms ix List of Figures XIV List of Tables XV Preface xvii 1 An Achilles Heel 1 2 From Scientific Serendipity to Scientific Problem 33 3 The Battle of the Dumps - Part 1, The Causes of the Conflict 93 4 The Battle of the Dumps - Part 2, The Course of the Conflict 139 5 The United States - In Search of the Nuclear Oasis 200 6 Nuclear Waste in Western Europe 247 7 The Way Forward 313 Epilogue 330 Sources and Bibliography 336 Index 353 Vll Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the following for permission to reproduce the original artwork of cartoons and photographs: Ch 2: Daily Mirror, West Highland Free Press, Scottish Campaign to Resist the Atomic Menace (SCRAM), 'Colin' and the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and Amigos de la Tierra (Friends of the Earth) Spain. Ch 3: Bedfordshire County Council. Ch 4: Bedfordshire Times, Bedfordshire Against Nuclear Dumping (BAND), 'Griffin' and Daily Mirror, The Times and Syndica tion International Ltd. Ch 5: Bob Taylor and Faith Kenrick. Ch 6: WISE, Paris, Folkkampanjen mot Karnkraft och Karnvapen (FMKK). Ch 7: Faith Kenrick, Chris Madden and UK Green Party. We also gratefuly acknowledge the following sources from which figures, maps and cartoons have been derived: Ch 1: NIREX, International Atomic Energy Agency, National Radiological Protection Board and UK Atomic Energy Authority. Ch 2: The Observer, Nature, The Sunday Times. Ch 3: NIREX, UK Atomic Energy Authority, Bedfordshire County Council. Ch 4: NIREX. Ch 5: US Department of Energy, Radioactive Waste Campaign, US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Faith Kenrick. Ch 6: Svensk karnbranslehantering AB (SKB). Ch 7: Faith Kenrick. Vlll List of Acronyms and Abbreviations AEC Atomic Energy Commission (US) AERE Atomic Energy Research Establishment (UK) AFR Away from Reactor (storage facility) AGR Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactor AKA Swedish Nuclear Waste Review Commission ALARA As Low as Reasonably Achievable ALATA As Low as Technically Achievable ANDRA Agence National pour la Gestion des Dechets Radioactifs (France) BAG Barrow Action Group (UK) BAND Bedfordshire Against Nuclear Dumping (UK) BAND Billingham Against Nuclear Dumping (UK) BAS Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz - West German Office for Radiation Protection BMN West German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety BNFL British Nuclear Fuels Limited (now pIc) (UK) BOND Britain Opposed to Nuclear Dumping BPEO Best Practical Environmental Option BRC Below Regulatory Concern BIs Burgerinitiativen (citizen action groups, West Germany) CANDU Canadian Heavy Water Reactor Design CDU Christian Democratic Union (West Germany) a CEA Commissariat l'Energie Atomique (France) CEGB Central Electricity Generating Board (UK) CFCs Chlorofluorocarbons CFR Code of Federal Regulations (US) CLAB Central a Lagret fOr Anvant Karnbrasle - Swedish Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility COGEMA Compagnie Generale des Matieres Nucleaires - French nuclear fuel cycle company CORE Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment ix x List of Acronyms and Abbreviations DAD Decide, Announce, Defend DoE Department of the Environment (UK) DOE Department of Energy (US) DWK Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Wiederaufarbeitung von Kernbrennstoffen - West German spent fuel storage and reprocessing company EAND Essex Against Nuclear Dumping (UK) EC European Commission EdF Electricite de France EEC European Economic Community EEG Environmental Evaluation Group (State of New Mexico) ENE A (NEA) European Nuclear Energy Agency EP European Parliament EPA Environmental Protection Agency (US) ERDA Energy Research and Development Administration (US) ERL Environmental Resources Ltd (UK) EURATOM European Atomic Energy Community FBR Fast Breeder Reactor FMKK Folkkampanjen mot Karnkraft och Karnvapen - Swedish National anti nuclear power and weapons movement FoE Friends of the Earth FRG Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) GAO General Accounting Office (US) GDR German Democratic Republic (East Germany) GETT Grants Equal to Taxes GIR Gorleben International Review GWe Gigawatts (electrical) HAND Humberside Against Nuclear Dumping (UK) HLW High-Level Waste HSE Health and Safety Executive (UK) IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICI Imperial Chemical Industries