0000000000340966
AUTHOR
Jurgita Vesalainen
Socio-technical risk governance through dyadic risk dialogue : copper corrosion as a safety challenge in the geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel
The risk of corrosion in oxygen-free water has become an issue of scientific controversy possibly even threatening the realisation of the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Finland and Sweden. In Sweden there has been extensive discussion about the issue since 2007, but only recently has this debate increased in Finland although the similar disposal concept (KBS-3) is applied in both countries. In this report, we analyse how the implementer, Posiva (a Finnish nuclear waste company), and the regulator, STUK (the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority), have been engaged in a dialogue on the risk of copper corrosion. For over thirty years the implementer and regulator have been e…
Does technical risk dialogue entail socioeconomic valuation? : The case of scientific dispute over copper corrosion in a spent nuclear fuel disposal project
Among the proponents of nuclear power, the project for the safe and secure disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in Finland is often deemed as a success story. Opponents have had difficulties getting publicity for their claims about the risks of the project. Their most powerful arguments have been mostly ethical, but on technical issues the opponents have been in a weaker position than the proponents. However, recently the risk of corrosion in oxygen-free water has become subject to scientific controversy, possibly threatening even the realisation of the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel. In Sweden, this issue has been intensively debated since 2007, but only recently has this debate take…