Separation Techniques in Nuclear Waste Management is an up-to-date, comprehensive survey of processes for separation of nuclear wastes. Comprised of articles by scientists and engineers at universities and national laboratories in the U.S. and overseas, the book provides excellent reference information for individuals working in nuclear waste management. Specifically, the book covers current separation technologies and techniques for waste liquid, solid, and gas streams that contain radionuclides. Such wastes are typical of those produced as a result of nuclear materials processing and spent fuel reprocessing. Chapters on promising new technologies and state-of-the-art processes currently in use provide valuable information for design engineers, as well as for research scientists. The articles in Separation Techniques in Nuclear Waste Management are brief and concise - designed for quick access to pertinent information. Many of the contributors are leaders in their fields. It is the most current survey available of the latest nuclear waste management techniques.

The Book represents a collection of papers prepared for and presented by specialists of seven concerned countries in the fourth Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), Moscow, September 22-24, 2004, sponsored and organized within the framework of the NATO-Russia partnership.Similar to the three previous publications, which collected the materials of the NATO-Russia ARWs held in Moscow in 1995, 1997 and 2002, the fourth book of the same series also addresses a very important challenge of the present - complex decommissioning of the taken-out-of-service nuclear-powered vessels and environmental rehabilitation of the centers of basing and everyday running of different-type nuclear vessels. The fourth book especially focuses on the scientific and technical problems of management of naval spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.

Geologic Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste examines the fundamental knowledge and conditions to be considered and applied by planners and other professionals when establishing national repository concepts, and constructing repositories for the long-term isolation of highly radioactive waste from surrounding crystalline rock. It emphasizes the important roles of structural geology, hydrogeology, hydrochemistry, and construction techniques. It specifically examines the disposal of steel canisters with spent reactor fuel in mined repositories (MR) at medium-depth, and in very deep boreholes (VDH). While disposal in mined repositories has been widely tested, the option of placing high-level radioactive waste in deep boreholes has been considered in the US, UK, and elsewhere in Europe, but has not yet been tested on a broad scale. This book examines the possibility of safe disposal for very long periods, proposing that the high salt content and density of groundwater at large depths are such that potentially contaminated water would not rise high enough to affect the more shallow biosphere. Features: Presents the best practices for disposal of spent fuel from nuclear reactors. Assesses waste isolation capacities in short- and long-term perspectives, and the associated risks. Describes site selection principles and the economics of construction of different types of repositories. Includes an appendix which provides the latest international recommendations and guidelines concerning the disposal of highly radioactive waste.

Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967) is one of the few American scientists who have become public and controversial figures in the twentieth century.T his book adds a new dimension to the Oppenheimer story by offering a look at the private man behind the public figure. It consists of letters spanning the period from his Harvard student days in 1922 to his departure from Los Alamos in 1945. The letters are supplemented by recollections of those who knew Oppenheimer and by his own recollections from an interview a few years before his death. 'A beautifully organized collection of letters and reminiscences ...The editors have interviewed those who knew and worked with him, stirred in the necessary explanatory background, and produced an account, both scholarly and highly readable, which throws fresh light on a man who will probably always remain something of an enigma. Amid devotional defense and almost rabid attack, their book is a model of objectivity.' New York Times Book RevieW 'An intimate, carefully documented, and honest book.' Scientific American 'The first scholarly attempt to come to grips with the development of Oppenheimer's elusive personality, it is all the more impressive because its many revealing letters and candid commentary were gathered from those who knew him best.' Science 'A milestone in Oppenheimer scholarship ...The full measure of Oppenheimer the man, the scientist, and the public figure remains to be taken, but the publication of this rich volume will markedly aid the accomplishment of that ultimate and demanding task.'

The Fukushima disaster continues to appear in national newspapers when there is another leakage of radiation-contaminated water, evacuation designations are changed, or major compensation issues arise and so remains far from over. However, after five years, attention and research towards the disaster seems to have waned despite the extent and significance of the disaster that remains. The aftermath of Fukushima exposed a number of shortcomings in nuclear energy policy and disaster preparedness. This book gives an account of the municipal responses, citizen's responses, and coping attempts, before, during, and after the Fukushima crisis. It focuses on the background of the Fukushima disaster, from the Tohoku earthquake to diffusion on radioactive material and risk miscommunication. It explores the processes and politics of radiation contamination, and the conditions and challenges that the disaster evacuees have faced, reflecting on the evacuation process, evacuation zoning, and hope in a post-Fukushima environment. The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of disaster management studies and nuclear policy.

Safe and secure transport and storage of radioactive materials are essential for sustainable nuclear fuel cycle. The basic technologies are matured, but they have been progressively developed to make transport and storage safer and more secure. Safe and secure culture that encourages a questioning and learning attitude and that discourages complacency should be fostered and maintained. This book provides current basis of safe and secure transport and storage so that those technologies can be readily traced, improved, or modified, if necessary, for and by the future generations.This book overviews current available information in the literature. It also covers advanced technology on similar subjects in the literature. On top of that, new and valuable subjects are introduced for readers to grasp the wide spectrum of the safe and secure transport and storage technology. The contents are arranged and divided into three sections, I: Safety of Transport, II: Safety of Storage, III: Security of Transport and Storage.

The Fukushima Effect offers a range of scholarly perspectives on the international effect of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown four years out from the disaster. Grounded in the field of science, technology and society (STS) studies, a leading cast of international scholars from the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States examine the extent and scope of the Fukushima effect. The authors each focus on one country or group of countries, and pay particular attention to national histories, debates and policy responses on nuclear power development covering such topics as safety of nuclear energy, radiation risk, nuclear waste management, development of nuclear energy, anti-nuclear protest movements, nuclear power representations, and media representations of the effect. The countries featured include well established 'nuclear nations', emergent nuclear nations and non-nuclear nations to offer a range of contrasting perspectives. This volume will add significantly to the ongoing international debate on the Fukushima disaster and will interest academics, policy-makers, energy pundits, public interest organizations, citizens and students engaged variously with the Fukushima disaster itself, disaster management, political science, environmental/energy policy and risk, public health, sociology, public participation, civil society activism, new media, sustainability, and technology governance.

Three Mile Island explains the far-reaching consequences of the partial meltdown of Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island power plant on March 28, 1979. Though the disaster was ultimately contained, the fears it triggered had an immediate and lasting impact on public attitudes towards nuclear energy in the United States. In this volume, Grace Halden contextualizes the events at Three Mile Island and the ensuing media coverage, offering a gripping portrait of a nation coming to terms with technological advances that inspired both awe and terror. Including a selection of key primary documents, this book offers a fascinating resource for students of the history of science, technology, the environment, and Cold War culture.

Three Mile Island explains the far-reaching consequences of the partial meltdown of Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island power plant on March 28, 1979. Though the disaster was ultimately contained, the fears it triggered had an immediate and lasting impact on public attitudes towards nuclear energy in the United States. In this volume, Grace Halden contextualizes the events at Three Mile Island and the ensuing media coverage, offering a gripping portrait of a nation coming to terms with technological advances that inspired both awe and terror. Including a selection of key primary documents, this book offers a fascinating resource for students of the history of science, technology, the environment, and Cold War culture.

The question of what to do with radioactive waste has dogged political administrations of nuclear-powered electricity-producing nations since the inception of the technology in the 1950s. As the issue rises to the forefront of current energy and environmental policy debates, a critical policy analysis of radioactive waste management in the UK provides important insights for the future. Nuclear Waste Politics sets out a detailed historical and social scientific analysis of radioactive waste management and disposal in the UK from the 1950s up to the present day; drawing international comparisons with Sweden, Finland, Canada and the US. A theoretical framework is presented for analysing nuclear politics: blending literatures on technology policy, environmental ethics and the geography and politics of scale. The book proffers a new theory of "ethical incrementalism" and practical policy suggestions to facilitate a fair and efficient siting process for radioactive waste management facilities. The book argues that a move away from centralised, high capital investment national siting towards a regional approach using deep borehole disposal, could resolve many of the problems that the high stakes, inflexible "megaproject" approach has caused across the world. This book is an important resource for academics and researchers in the areas of environmental management, energy policy, and science and technology studies.

This open access book summarizes the latest scientific findings regarding the biological effects of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident in 2011. Various cases of changes in animals and organisms have been reported since the FNPP accident. However, it is often unknown whether they are actually due to radiation, since the dose or dose-rate are not necessarily associated with the changes observed. This book brings together the works of radiation biologists and ecologists to provide reliable radioecology data and gives insight into future radioprotection. The book examines the environmental pollution and radiation exposure, and contains valuable data from abandoned livestock in the ex-evacuation zone and from wild animals including invertebrates and vertebrates, aqueous and terrestrial animals, and plants that are subjected to long-term exposure in the area still affected by radiation. It also analyzes dose evaluation, and offers new perspectives gained from the accident, as well as an overview for future studies to promote radioprotection of humans and the ecosystem. Since the biological impact of radiation is influenced by various factors, it is difficult to scientifically define the effects of low-dose/low-dose-rate radiation. However, the detailed research data presented can be combined with the latest scientific and technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, to provide new insights in the future. This book is a unique and valuable resource for researchers, professionals and anyone interested in the impact of exposure to radiation or contamination with radioactive materials.

Decades of U.S. nuclear weapons production have exacted a heavy environmental toll. The Department of Energy estimates that cleaning up waste and contamination resulting from production activities will cost over $150 billion. Yet even once that money is spent, these sites will need long-term attention to assure protection of human health and the environment. In the authors' words, stewardship refers to 'institutions, information, and strategies needed to ensure protection of people and the environment, both in the short and the long term.' Probst and McGovern make a compelling case for establishing a formal program of long-term stewardship for contaminated sites. Their report details the requirements of a successful stewardship program and discusses the daunting technical and political challenges facing such efforts, including the designation of an institutional home for key stewardship functions. The legacy of environmental damage is considerable; hazardous waste disposal, radioactive waste, and contaminated facilities are among the problems that will remain after DOE cleanup efforts are complete. Stewardship planning, according to Probst and McGovern, must start now.

This book seeks to go beyond conventional literature on the North Korean nuclear issue by examining the chances of survival of the Kim Jong Un regime, both with and without the nuclear weapons program. It offers a detailed historical background of the dysfunctional North Korean economy, explores the contemporary socioeconomic condition of the country, examines the failures of the Six-party Talks and other attempts at negotiations with North Korea, and outlines a blueprint for the survival of the regime through rapid economic modernization to be put forward by the five stakeholder nations in exchange for dismantlement of the nuclear weapons program.

Twenty-five years after the Chernobyl explosion, disaster struck once again after a tsunami overwhelmed the considerable safety measures at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. However, Fukushima had in place a solid containment structure to reduce the spread of radiation in the event of a worst-case scenario; Chernobyl did not. These two incidents highlight the importance of such safety measures, which were critically lacking in an entire class of Soviet-designed reactors. This book examines why five countries operating these dangerous reactors first signed international agreements to close them within a few years, then instead delayed for almost two decades. It looks at how political decision makers weighed the enormous short-term costs of closing those reactors against the long-term benefits of compliance, and how the political instability that dominated post-Communist transitions impacted their choices. The book questions the efficacy of Western governments' efforts to convince their Eastern counterparts of the dangers they faced, and establishes a causal relationship between political stability and compliance behavior. This model will also enable more effective assistance policies in similar situations of political change where decision makers face considerable short-term costs to gain greater future rewards. This book provides a valuable resource for postgraduate students, academics and policy makers in the fields of nuclear safety, international agreements, and democratization.

The Fukushima disaster continues to appear in national newspapers when there is another leakage of radiation-contaminated water, evacuation designations are changed, or major compensation issues arise and so remains far from over. However, after five years, attention and research towards the disaster seems to have waned despite the extent and significance of the disaster that remains. The aftermath of Fukushima exposed a number of shortcomings in nuclear energy policy and disaster preparedness. This book gives an account of the municipal responses, citizen's responses, and coping attempts, before, during, and after the Fukushima crisis. It focuses on the background of the Fukushima disaster, from the Tohoku earthquake to diffusion on radioactive material and risk miscommunication. It explores the processes and politics of radiation contamination, and the conditions and challenges that the disaster evacuees have faced, reflecting on the evacuation process, evacuation zoning, and hope in a post-Fukushima environment. The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of disaster management studies and nuclear policy.

Proceedings of the 48th Session of the International Seminars on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies held in Erice, Sicily. This Seminar has again gathered, in 2015, over one hundred scientists from 43 countries in an interdisciplinary effort that has been going on for the last 32 years, to examine and analyze planetary problems which had been followed up, all year long, by the World Federation of Scientists' Permanent Monitoring Panels.

Nuclear energy leaves behind an infinitely dangerous legacy of radioactive wastes in places that are remote and polluted landscapes of risk. Four of these places - Hanford (USA) where the plutonium for the first atomic bombs was made, Sellafield, where the UK's nuclear legacy is concentrated and controversial, La Hague the heart of the French nuclear industry, and Gorleben, the focal point of nuclear resistance in Germany - provide the narratives for this unique account of the legacy of nuclear power. The Legacy of Nuclear Power takes a historical and geographical perspective going back to the origins of these places and the ever changing relationship between local communities and the nuclear industry. The case studies are based on a variety of academic and policy sources and on conversations with a vast array of people over many years. Each story is mediated through an original theoretical framework focused on the concept of 'peripheral communities' developing through changing discourses of nuclear energy. This interdisciplinary book brings together social, political and ethical themes to produce a work that tells not just a story but also provides profound insights into how the nuclear legacy should be managed in the future. The book is designed to be enjoyed by academics, policy-makers and professionals interested in energy, environmental planning and politics and by a wider group of stakeholders and the public concerned about our nuclear legacy.

Once home to the United States's largest plutonium production site, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state is laced with 56 million gallons of radioactive waste. The threat of an explosive accident at Hanford is all too real-an event that could be more catastrophic than Chernobyl. The EPA designated Hanford the most toxic place in America; it is also the most expensive environmental clean-up job the world has ever seen, with a $677 billion price tag that keeps growing. Huge underground tanks, well past their life expectancy and full of boiling radioactive gunk, are leaking, infecting groundwater supplies and threatening the Columbia River. Whistleblowers, worried that the worst is ahead, are now speaking out, begging to be heard and hoping their pleas help bring attention to the dire situation at Hanford. Aside from a few feisty community groups and handful of Indigenous activists, there is very little public scrutiny of the clean-up process, which is managed by the Department of Energy and carried out by contractors with shoddy track records, like Bechtel. In the context of renewed support for atomic power as a means of combating climate change, Atomic Days provides a much-needed refutation of the myths of nuclear technology-from weapons to electricity-and shines a spotlight on the ravages of Hanford and its threat to communities, workers and the global environment.

The Fukushima Effect offers a range of scholarly perspectives on the international effect of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown four years out from the disaster. Grounded in the field of science, technology and society (STS) studies, a leading cast of international scholars from the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the United States examine the extent and scope of the Fukushima effect. The authors each focus on one country or group of countries, and pay particular attention to national histories, debates and policy responses on nuclear power development covering such topics as safety of nuclear energy, radiation risk, nuclear waste management, development of nuclear energy, anti-nuclear protest movements, nuclear power representations, and media representations of the effect. The countries featured include well established 'nuclear nations', emergent nuclear nations and non-nuclear nations to offer a range of contrasting perspectives. This volume will add significantly to the ongoing international debate on the Fukushima disaster and will interest academics, policy-makers, energy pundits, public interest organizations, citizens and students engaged variously with the Fukushima disaster itself, disaster management, political science, environmental/energy policy and risk, public health, sociology, public participation, civil society activism, new media, sustainability, and technology governance.

This title, first published in 1987, examines the topic of nuclear waste management, and the way in which the public reacts to this issue. Part 1 explores the sources of public unease, such as the way in which nuclear waste had failed to be properly contained in the past. Part 2 looks at the search for a waste policy and the introduction of The Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Part 3 examines the waste problem from the standpoint of it being an international issue, and finally, Part 4 looks to the future and the lessons that we can learn from past nuclear waste management failures. This book will be of interest to students of environmental management.

During the nuclear heyday of the post-war years advocates of atomic power promised cheap electricity and a prosperous future. From the present, however, this promise seems tarnished by accidents, leaks and a lack of public confidence. Mobilising Modernity traces this journey from confidence in technology to the anxieties of the Risk Society questioning a number of conventional wisdoms en route.
Paying close attention to social, political and policy aspects throughout, this book considers:
* the nuclear moment from global collaborative project at Los Alamos to fragmented, bitterly competing projects
* the 'atomic science movement's' use of symbolic resources to win national ascendancy
* the implications of secrecy and the establishment of quasi-commercial organisations within the nuclear industry.
This fascinating study also argues for the ongoing importance of the non-violent direct action groups that flourished during the 1970s, showing their continuing influence on today's new social movements. Welsh concludes by considering the implications of this historically based account for contemporary issues of risk and trust on current policy-making.

Twenty-five years after the Chernobyl explosion, disaster struck once more after a tsunami overwhelmed the considerable safety measures at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. However, Fukushima had put in place a solid containment structure to reduce the spread of radiation in the event of a worst-case scenario; Chernobyl did not. These two incidents highlight the importance of such safety measures, which were critically lacking in an entire class of Soviet-designed reactors. This book examines why five countries operating these dangerous reactors first signed international agreements to close them within a few years, but instead delayed for almost two decades. It looks at how political decision makers weighed the enormous short-term costs of closing those reactors against the long-term benefits of compliance, and how the political instability that dominated post-Communist transitions impacted their choices. The book questions the efficacy of Western governments' efforts to convince their Eastern counterparts of the dangers they faced, and establishes the causal relationship between political stability and compliance behaviour.This model will also enable more effective assistance policies in similar situations of political change where decision makers face considerable short-term costs to gain greater future rewards. This book provides a valuable resource for postgraduate students, academics and policy makers in the fields of nuclear safety, international agreements and democratization.

The rising demand for energy, the higher costs of oil and gas, and the association of fossil fuels with adverse climate change have all brought a renewed interest in nuclear energy. Nuclear power, however, is itself controversial, because of its costs, its environmental effects and the security risks it poses. This book discusses these critical issues surrounding nuclear power in relation to Asia. It discusses also the politics of nuclear power and the activities of civil society organisations concerned about nuclear issues. Throughout the book the perspectives are included of both proponents and opponents of nuclear power on the key controversial issues.

When the Nuclear Safety Commission in Japan reviewed safety-design guidelines for nuclear plants in 1990, the regulatory agency explicitly ruled out the need to consider prolonged AC power loss. In other words, nothing like the catastrophe at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was possible-no tsunami of 45 feet could swamp a nuclear power station and knock out its emergency systems. No blackout could last for days. No triple meltdown could occur. Nothing like this could ever happen. Until it did-over the course of a week in March 2011. In this volume and in gripping detail, the Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, a civilian-led group, presents a thorough and powerful account of what happened within hours and days after this nuclear disaster, the second worst in history. It documents the findings of a working group of more than thirty people, including natural scientists and engineers, social scientists and researchers, business people, lawyers, and journalists, who researched this crisis involving multiple simultaneous dangers. They conducted over 300 investigative interviews to collect testimony from relevant individuals. The responsibility of this committee was to act as an external ombudsman, summarizing its conclusions in the form of an original report, published in Japanese in February 2012. This has now been substantially rewritten and revised for this English-language edition. The work reveals the truth behind the tragic saga of the multiple catastrophic accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.It serves as a valuable and essential historical reference, which will help to inform and guide future nuclear safety and policy in both Japan and internationally.