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E-book German Radioactive Waste : Changes in Policy and Law

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Penilaian

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The book presents the universal issues of high-level radioactive waste man-agement from the perspective of the German legal system. It covers the entire “life-cycle” of radioactive waste, i.e. from the moment that radio-active material is classified as radioactive waste (Chapter 1), through the period of interim storage (Chapter 2), up to its final disposal (Chapter 3). But this final step in radioactive waste management (final disposal) has not yet been achieved in Germany (or anywhere in the world). It was the sub-ject of a hefty public debate in Germany for dozens of years. Thus the book analyses in a separate chapter (No. 3) the most recent regulations that are to enable radioactive waste disposal. This framework is a result of public consensus. The book also analyses another controversial issue of re-using spent nuclear fuel. For decades, this concept of closing the nuclear fuel cycle was supported by the German lawmaker until it came to an abrupt halt. The timeframe for this comprehensive depiction of regulatory develop-ments in the area of radioactive waste management in Germany starts with the emergence of the nuclear power sector in Germany up until most recent regulatory developments (after statutory shut-down).The central research objective of this book was to analyse how private and public entities bear both responsibility and liability within the process of nuclear waste management. On one hand it is a clear constitutional task of the state to protect the life and health of its citizens as well as to protect the environment. But on the other hand, should the taxpayer be involved in financing those tasks if the (private) polluters are well-known? The well-established “polluter-pays” principle finds its application in this area only partially as the long-term risks (that go far into the future for dozens of generations) complicate undertaking any calculations regardingthe costs of final disposal of radioactive waste. The other problem is whether those private entities will still exist once exact calculations are finalised. The book presents and assesses an approach taken by a German lawmaker while try-ing to get out of this zugzwang. Although the book focuses solely on the German legal system, problems described in it are present in other legal systems. Could those universal problems be solved using the German experience? I personally believe so because the German approach to the nuclear waste issue is a leading one in the world. The current German regulatory framework is a result of decades of hefty public and legal debate. Although those regulations might not be perfect, it is a bold attempt to address these issues by the generations that used nuclear power (and not to leave this problem to future generations). At the same time, other countries that use nuclear energy have not had a similarly vivid public and/or legal debate on radioactive waste management. Thus, even if their legal systems were to now address the issues of final management of radioactive waste, at some point in the future these mea-sures may lack public support. Thanks to identifying these three stages of regulatory responses, readers outside Germany will be able to easily iden-tify the stage to which their own legal system can be assigned.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

539.732 RYB g

Penerbit

New York : Taylor & Francis., 2022

Deskripsi Fisik

137 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781003198086

Klasifikasi

539.732

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Radioactivity

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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