For a Few Dollars More: Public Trust and the Case for Transporting Nuclear Waste in Dedicated Trains |
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| Authors: | Theodore S Glickman Dominic Golding |
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| Institution: | Theodore S. Glickman is a Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future where he conducts research on technological hazards. He has been on the faculties of Boston University and Virginia Tech. His recent book, Readings in Risk, is published by the Johns Hopkins Press.;Dominic Golding is a Fellow in the Center for Risk Management at Resources for the Future. His current research interests include the history and development of risk research, environmental equity, risk communication and community risk profiles. |
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| Abstract: | The debate about the use of dedicated trains for shipping spent fuel and high level nuclear waste has been going on for the past 15 years. The nuclear industry and its regulatory agencies would like to consider the case closed. The recent passage of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Act of 1990, however, opens the door once more, giving the railroads and other proponents of dedicated trains another chance to present their case. This paper argues that earlier conclusions favoring regular trains over dedicated trains were based on incomplete cost and risk information and neglected other factors which are not technical, but social and institutional in nature. The paper finds that the additional cost of a dedicated system is lower than previously thought and concludes that it is a small price to pay for reduced public opposition and increased levels of trust. |
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