Erring with high‐level nuclear waste disposal: a case study of the precautionary principle

Increasingly, the “Precautionary Principle” is being discussed as a basis for decision‐making to protect environmental and human health where there are risks of serious or irreversible damage but where there are gaps in knowledge and uncertainties to demonstrate conclusively either the existence of the risks or their levels. Many analyses of the precautionary principle focus on the abstract or philosophical theories of the principle. Here, I provide a more practical case study to demonstrate some of the prospects and problems of the principle. While the case study focuses specifically on the disposal of high‐level radioactive waste at a potential repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, it also provides insight to other problems of complex technologies and the protection of health.

Keywords:

• Precautionary principle
• Yucca Mountain
• Nuclear waste