INVOLVING THE PUBLIC IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE– THE EUROPEAN UNION'S LEGISLATIVE AND RESEARCH INITIATIVES

摘要

In the European Union (EU), nuclear energy has produced during the last few years over onernthird of the total electricity generated and consumed. Nuclear energy plays – and must continuernto play – an important role in the diversity and security of the EU’s energy supply. Also, as arndirect result of its negligible emission of greenhouse gases, its use results in importantrnenvironmental benefits. The crucial problem faced by the nuclear industry regarding greaterrndevelopment of nuclear energy is that of public acceptance. This is increasingly influenced byrnthe absence of a clearly defined and established route for the safe, long-term management ofrnsome of the more hazardous radioactive wastes. There is a need to better inform the public aboutrnradioactive waste and, through wider consultation, involve them more in the decision-makingrnprocess concerning the management of these wastes. Existing and proposed new Europeanrnlegislation not only encourages this provision of information and involvement in the decisionmakingrnprocess, but actually requires it. It is important for developers and national authoritiesrnnot to see these new legislative requirements as an additional burden but rather as an opportunityrnto achieve a wider acceptance of a technology that can help the EU meet the massive challengernof climate change. This paper briefly summarises public opinion about radioactive waste in thernEU (Part 1), the development of Community legislation regarding public information andrninvolvement (Part 2) and the latest research in this area carried out under the Community'srnFramework Programme (Part 3).