Title: Identifying potential repositories for radioactive waste: multiple criteria decision analysis and critical infrastructure systems

Authors: Kouichi Taji, Jason K. Levy, Jens Hartmann, Michelle L. Bell, Richard M. Anderson, Benjamin F. Hobbs, Tom Feglar

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan. ' University of Hawaii–Leeward, Pearl City, HI 96782, USA. ' Institute for Applied Geosciences, Darmstadt University of Technology, Schnittspahnstrasse 9, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany. ' School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. ' Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis, US Dept of Agriculture, Office of the Chief Economist Stop 3811, Room 5248 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington DC, 20250-3811, USA. ' Department Geography and Environmental Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. ' Vondrousova 1199 163 00 Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract: An approach for the analysis and management of multiple criteria critical infrastructure problems is put forth. Nuclear waste management involves complex tradeoffs under uncertainty. Among all waste either generated by nature or human activities, radioactive nuclear waste is the most toxic to human health and difficult to manage: it is known that some nuclear waste material will be radioactive and potentially dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years. This paper discusses the use of multiple criteria decision analysis techniques such as the analytic hierarchy process for recommending sites to be considered as potential repositories for nuclear waste.

Keywords: negotiation; nuclear waste repository; AHP; conflict resolution; tradeoff display; weighting methods; critical infrastructures; radioactive waste; waste management; analytical hierarchy process; nuclear waste disposal sites; nuclear waste storage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCIS.2005.006684

International Journal of Critical Infrastructures, 2005 Vol.1 No.4, pp.404 - 422

Published online: 01 Apr 2005 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article