Publication Type: Hands-on Sessions
Abstract: A Continuation of the Morning Session: This will teach basics about radiation, detection and the uses of nuclear science and technology in society. Teachers who complete the workshop will receive materials including hands-on activities and a Geiger counter. They will meet professionals in nuclear science.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: One of the most widely observed phenomena in environmental politics is "Not In My Back Yard" or NIMBY: environmental activists generally oppose the siting of environmentally destructive or hazardous facilities within their own localities or regions. Presently, most EU member states are burdened by sizeable amounts of high-level radioactive waste, yet none has thus far created a permanent repository for the disposal of it. Under these conditions, one might expect to see "nuclear NIMBYism": environmentalist demands that such repositories be established as far as away as possible, preferably in another country all together. One might also anticipate that the European nuclear industry, plagued by public concerns about waste disposal, would concur. Such a possibility now exists due to the Russian government's recent offer to dispose of foreign spent nuclear fuel. Paradoxically, however, the reaction of both environmentalists and proponents of nuclear power within the EU has been to press for internal disposal instead. This has occurred because both the antinuclear and pronuclear lobbies believe that insistence upon internal disposal will advance their respective policy goals, be it the phaseout of nuclear power or the reinvigoration of it, while export to Russia would undermine those goals. This paper explains the logic behind these contradictory positions and explores the sources of instability within the currrent "anti-export" coalition.

Publication Type: Hands-on Sessions
Abstract: This will teach basics about radiation, detection and the uses of nuclear science and technology in society. Teachers who complete the workshop will receive materials including hands-on activities and a Geiger counter. They will meet professionals in nuclear science. (Must take with Session II to obtain the Geiger Counter)

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The decision of the Russian government to permit the importation of nuclear waste for storage and eventual reprocessing is fraught with significant consequences for both Russia and the international community. Kazakhstan is considering a similar policy. External actors cannot remain neutral with respect to the creation of a nuclear pollution haven in Russia and Kazakhstan. First, between 70 and 90 percent of the world's spent nuclear fuel is of U.S. origin, and thus shipment to any third country is subject to U.S. consent. Second, Russia will be able to import spent nuclear fuel from the member states of the European Union only if the European Commission concludes that Russia has the legal, regulatory, and technical ability to safely manage the waste. Finally, the resulting climate of uncertainty has generated an incentive for EU candidate states with Soviet-designed nuclear power plants to return their waste to Russia as quickly as possible, regardless of safety or proliferation considerations. This paper will analyze the responses of other states to the Russian and Kazakh proposals and relate these to the growing literature on waste trading and pollution havens.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper delves into the nature of local opposition through content analysis of letters to the editor in seventeen counties named as candidate sites for a LLRW disposal facility. I use Kraft and Clary’s (1993) analysis of public hearing testimony on high-level radioactive waste siting controversies as a guide. Like these authors I find overwhelming expressions of opposition across these cases. I also find that this opposition does not fit the not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) characterization as operationalized by Kraft and Clary. However, I find that NIMBY characteristics were prevalent early in the siting processes and diminished over time. This leads me to argue that it is best to conceive of public expressions of opposition, like letters to the editor and testimony at hearings, as acts of strategic framing rather than indicators of private attitudes. I conclude with some preliminary analysis that indicates that the changing character of opposition may influence siting progress.