Perceived Risk and Benefit of Nuclear Waste Repositories: Four Opinion Clusters

Local public resistance can block the site‐selection process, construction, and operation of nuclear waste repositories. Social science has established that the perception of risks and benefits, trust in authorities, and opinion on nuclear energy play important roles in acceptance. In particular, risk and benefit evaluations seem critical for opinion formation. However, risks and benefits have rarely been studied independently and, most often, the focus has been on the two most salient groups of proponents and opponents. The aim of this exploratory study is to examine the often‐neglected majority of people holding ambivalent or indifferent opinions. We used cluster analysis to examine the sample (N = 500, mailed survey in German‐speaking Switzerland) in terms of patterns of risk and benefit perception. We reveal four significantly different and plausible clusters: one cluster with high‐benefit ratings in favor of a repository and one cluster with high‐risk ratings opposing it; a third cluster shows ambivalence, with high ratings on both risk and benefit scales and moderate opposition, whereas a fourth cluster seems indifferent, rating risks and benefits only moderately compared to the ambivalent cluster. We conclude that a closer look at the often neglected but considerable number of people with ambivalent or indifferent opinions is necessary. Although the extreme factions of the public will most probably not change their opinion, we do not yet know how the opinion of the ambivalent and indifferent clusters might develop over time.     

Intergenerational Considerations Affecting the Future of Nuclear Power: Equity as a Framework for Assessing Fuel Cycles

Alternative fuel cycles are being considered in an effort to prolong uranium fuel supplies for thousands of years to come and to manage nuclear waste. These strategies bring with them different benefits and burdens for the present generation and for future generations. In this article, we present a method that provides insight into future fuel cycle alternatives and into the conflicts arising between generations within the framework of intergenerational equity. A set of intersubjective values is drawn from the notion of sustainable development. By operationalizing these values and mapping out their impacts, value criteria are introduced for the assessment of fuel cycles, which are based on the distribution of burdens and benefits between generations. The once‐through fuel cycle currently deployed in the United States and three future fuel cycles are subsequently assessed according to these criteria. The four alternatives are then compared in an integrated analysis in which we shed light on the implicit tradeoffs made by decisionmakers when they choose a certain fuel cycle. When choosing a fuel cycle, what are the societal costs and burdens accepted for each generation and how can these factors be justified? This article presents an integrated decision‐making method, which considers intergenerational aspects of such decisions; this method could also be applied to other technologies.     

Explaining the ending of Sweden's nuclear phase-out policy: a new approach by referring to the advocacy coalition framework theory

Sweden has been a role model for many European countries as regards the phasing-out of nuclear power. Nuclear power policy became a strong political issue in 1976, much earlier than in other countries. Sweden was the first country in the world to decide to phase out nuclear energy. A non-binding referendum on this subject was held in 1980. As a result, parliament decided to ban nuclear power after 2010. The main aim of the paper is to understand the complex process of policy change throughout various periods in the Swedish phase-out policy by applying the advocacy coalition framework (ACF) theory. The ACF was designed in 1988 by Sabatier and Jenkins Smith to explain, for example, coalition structure and behavior, belief and policy change in controversial/debatable policy subsystems. In February 2009, the Swedish center-right alliance announced a position paper regarding plans to overturn a 30-year ban on new atomic plants, as a part of a new impulse to increase energy security and fight global warming. Based on a decision taken in the Swedish Parliament in June 2010, when a small majority approved these two aims, Sweden reversed its nuclear power phase-out. This paper will analyze the most relevant factors that led to such a radical policy change.     

加强核电人才素质教育刍议

发展核能已成为目前全世界应对气候变化问题、减少温室气体排放的重要手段之一。实现国家中长期核电发展规划中所提出的战略目标所面临的首要问题是如何培养高素质的核电专业人才,以解决我国核电产业链中各个环节对匹配人才的需求。因此,加强核电专业大学生素质教育,对全面提升大学生综合能力具有重要而深远的意义,本文就目前核电专业学生的现状进行了分析研究,提出了几点解决问题的对策。     

A Perspective on Nuclear Waste

The management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste has the deserved reputation as one of the most intractable policy issues facing the United States and other nations using nuclear reactors for electric power generation. This paper presents the author's perspective on this complex issue, based on a decade of service with the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board and Board on Radioactive Waste Management of the National Research Council.     

朝核危机与朝鲜半岛国家关系中的各国合作解决途径分析

阻碍朝鲜半岛国家关系发展的因素很多,其中朝核问题构成了21世纪初朝鲜半岛国家关系冲突中最直接、最敏感、最复杂、最重要的因素之一。朝核问题的解决将对东北亚地区的安全环境带来了巨大的影响。当前,朝鲜半岛国家关系中的各国共同开展合作解决朝核危机的工作,已经成为实现东北亚共同安全合作机制建立的必要保证。     

Risk communication in South Korea: Social acceptance of nuclear power plants (NPPs)

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of perceived efficacy, perceived risk, communication quality, and trust on social acceptance of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in South Korea. The results of this study indicated that perceived efficacy was most strongly related to social acceptance of NPPs. In addition, communication quality and trust mediated relationships among perceived efficacy, perceived risk, and social acceptance of NPPs. These results also provided practical implications for managing risk communication in South Korea.     

中国大陆核损害赔偿法律制度的完善

日本福岛核泄漏事故为中国快速发展的核电事业敲响警钟,完善核损害赔偿法律制度将为核电事业的快速发展保驾护航。目前中国大陆已有的核损害赔偿法律规范体系性不强,效力等级较低,且规定十分原则,缺乏程序性规范。通过对比中国与其他有核国家的核损害赔偿制度,结合中国核能事业发展的实际,提出建立唯一责任下的多级赔偿机制,将环境受到的损害明确列入损害赔偿范围,同时通过建立核事故损害即时赔偿机制及完善常态化民事赔偿机制以构建中国大陆地区较为完善的核损害赔偿制度体系。     

奥巴马政府的核政策与朝核问题

第二届首尔核安全峰会的召开,激起国际社会对朝核问题的关注。作为重要的国际核安全问题,朝鲜核问题在美国新的核安全政策中处于何种地位,奥巴马政府将如何处理朝核问题成为国际社会关注热点。本文旨在探讨朝核问题自身的特殊性,分析奥巴马政府核安全政策的本质与内在矛盾,进而揭示美国新的核安全政策仍旧很难解决其在朝核问题上面临的困境。     

论我国核工业精神与社会主义核心价值体系的辩证统一性

我国核工业精神是中华民族精神和时代精神结合的产物,与社会主义核心价值体系有着密切的联系,二者在内容、本质和功能等方面具有一致性,必须把弘扬核工业精神,建设社会主义核心价值体系有机结合起来,为建设中国特色社会主义事业提供有力的精神动力和思想保证。