Decision Making for Complex Socio-Technical Systems : Robustness from Lessons Learned in Long-Term Radioactive Waste Governance

Thomas Flüeler

ISBN 10: 1402034806 / ISBN 13: 9781402034800

Editore: Springer Netherlands, Springer Netherlands, 2005

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Druck auf Anfrage Neuware - Printed after ordering - Waste management can be considered as a mirror of society. In its (our) fluctuating definition, besides conserving a supply of valuable materials and resources, it acts as a fascinating expression for our throw-away mentality. Waste is inevitable, but it nevertheless provides an opportunity, a need and an incentive for society to pursue a more careful management of it. If this is successfully carried out, society may well find it possible to manage itself in an overall more careful and universal way. The management, or governance, of radioactive waste particularly is determined by a complex constellation of individuals, social aggregates, and institutions. A wealth of interconnected parts forms a complex and volatile system that is highly technical and explosively political in nature. The problems inherent in this system must be managed so as to reach a safe, acceptable, responsible, feasible, and sustainable 'solution'. It is a system with an objective long-term dimension, with a hazard potential of, in part, hundreds of thousands of years; and it has a long-term institutional dimension insofar as its implementation must last for decades. The very notion of risk extends from the long life of radionuclides, over the perception of dread to the decisional risk of whether, when and how to implement an agreed upon 'solution'.

Codice articolo 9781402034800

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Decision Making for Complex Socio-Technical Systems : Robustness from Lessons Learned in Long-Term Radioactive Waste Governance
• Editore: Springer Netherlands, Springer Netherlands
• Data di pubblicazione: 2005
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1402034806
• ISBN 13: 9781402034800
• Rilegatura: Buch
• Condizione: Neu
• Dimensioni: 241 L x 160 A x 27 P (millimetri) 241 millimetri di larghezza per 160 millimetri di altezza per 27 millimetri di profondità
• Peso: 752 grammi

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

The long-term governance of radioactive waste continues to be a major complex and unresolved socio-technical issue. Previous technocratic approaches have so far failed. This empirically based study provides a novel approach to complementing technical expertise and economic/political power with stakeholder involvement. Inclusive participation is shown to be an asset that strengthens the processes, enhances robustness and facilitates sustainable decision making, thus adding value for all involved.

Dalla quarta di copertina

The long-term governance of radioactive waste continues to be a major complex and contentious socio-technical issue worldwide. Traditionally, it has been considered as mainly a challenge to scientists and engineers to develop technical "solutions" to specific problems. But increasingly these narrow solutions have been enlarged by wider societal considerations such as ethics, public involvement, control and retrievability – needs that have in the meanwhile been recognised by the nuclear community, at least in a general way. In this book, we analyse motives for a broad discourse as well as suggest prerequisites to launch it. The author attempts to give a novel, empirically based and technically sound treatment of fundamental issues in long-term management and governance. Written to be accessible to a wide selection of the interested public, the study proposes a combination of technical design issues, analysis methods and institutional backup in a dynamic procedure, and with involvement at all levels of political, commercial and social life.