scholarly journals From a hard nuclear state towards a soft nuclear repository state – participation, co-designing, learning and reversibility in the site selection process for a nuclear waste repository

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 215-216
Author(s):  
Achim Brunnengräber ◽  
Maria Rosaria Di Nucci ◽  
Lucas Schwarz ◽  
Dörte Themann
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Party System ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Nuclear State ◽  
Nuclear Waste Repository ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Nuclear Movement ◽  
Ongoing Process ◽  
Site Search ◽  
Current Procedure

Abstract. Since 2013 the site search for a repository for highly radioactive waste has been taking place in Germany within the framework of a new governance architecture and under new political guidelines. Based on experiences with nuclear politics in the past, Jungk (1977) coined the term hard nuclear state, characterized by decisions made in a top-down manner. The Decide-Announce-Defend (DAD) strategy, which branded the nuclear state at that time, led to conflicts, mistrust of authorities and blockages. In particular, massive resistance developed against the planned final repository site at Gorleben. Nowadays, after more than 60 years deploying nuclear energy, the (energy) political balance of power has fundamentally changed. Parts of the anti-nuclear movement have been integrated into the political party system and have contributed significantly to the nuclear phase-out. In the course of this, the unfinished task of final disposal has been readdressed: with the Repository Site Selection Act (StandAG, 2017), which was passed in 2013 and amended in 2017, an ongoing process of public participation is stated. The site selection process is required to be learning, self-questioning, science-based, reversible, and participatory. The StandAG § 5 not only provides a basis for a fundamental dialogue between the regulator, the operator, and the public, but also for „co-design“ by common citizens. The StandAG considers various elements from different participation-friendly theories of democracy as well as specific governance concepts, which we refer to collectively as the soft nuclear repository state (cf. Brunnengräber, 2021). Its characteristics need to be worked out, as the StandAG only provides some indications, but no criteria, for what good and sufficient participation in the site selection process means and what its conditions for success should be. Based on preliminary considerations on democratic theory and governance aspects (part 1), we present what good participation could mean in the current procedure and what the framework conditions for good participation could be (part 2). Additionally, we present main findings from participatory observations from the ongoing site search process and identify conditions and indications of a successful future participation process based on the ongoing process (part 3). In the résumé, we turn to the question of which of the democracy-theoretical elements of the soft repository state are already recognizable in the present procedure, but also whether the current procedure provides additional indications towards the soft nuclear repository state (part 4).

scholarly journals Experience of establishing and coordinating a nationwide network for bidirectional intussusception surveillance in India: lessons for multisite research studies

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e046827
Author(s):  
Manoja Kumar Das
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Prospective Surveillance ◽  
Surveillance Network ◽  
Nationally Representative

ObjectivesTo document and share the process of establishing the nationally representative multisite surveillance network for intussusception in India, coordination, data management and lessons learnt from the implementation.DesignThis study combined both retrospective and prospective surveillance approaches.Setting19 tertiary care institutions were selected in India considering the geographic representation and public and private mixParticipantsAll children under-2 years of age with intussusceptionPrimary and secondary outcome measuresThe experience of site selection, regulatory approvals, data collection, quality assurance and network coordination were documented.ResultsThe site selection process involved systematic and objective four steps including shortlisting of potential institutions, information seeking and telephonic interaction, site visits and site selection using objective criteria. Out of over 400 hospitals screened across India, 40 potential institutions were shortlisted and information was sought by questionnaire and interaction with investigators. Out of these, 25 institutes were visited and 19 sites were finally selected to participate in the study. The multistep selection process allowed filtering and identification of sites with adequate capacity and motivated investigators. The retrospective surveillance documented 1588 cases (range: 14–652 cases/site) and prospective surveillance recruited 621 cases (range: 5–191 cases/site). The multilayer quality assurance measures monitored and ensured protocol adherence, complete record retrieval and data completeness. The key challenges experienced included time taken for obtaining regulatory and ethical approvals, which delayed completion of the study. Ten sites continued with another multisite vaccine safety surveillance study.ConclusionThe experience and results of this systematic and objective site selection method in India are promising. The systematic multistep site selection and data quality assurance methods presented here are feasible and practical. The lessons from the establishment and coordination of this surveillance network can be useful in planning, selecting the sites and conducting multisite and surveillance studies in India and developing countries.

3D Web Visualization Tool to support HAYABUSA2-MASCOT Landing Site Selection Process

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine F. Charpentier ◽  
Vivian Lafaille ◽  
Aurelie Moussi ◽  
Jean Christophe Malapert ◽  
Laurence Lorda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Landing Site ◽  
Visualization Tool ◽  
Web Visualization ◽  
3D Web ◽  
Landing Site Selection

scholarly journals Analysis of Multi-Criteria Evaluation Method of Landfill Site Selection for Municipal Solid Waste Management

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 02010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habiba Ibrahim Mohammed ◽  
Zulkepli Majid ◽  
Norhakim Bin Yusof ◽  
Yamusa Bello Yamusa
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Solid Waste Management ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Landfill Site ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Landfill Site Selection ◽  
Multi Criteria Evaluation ◽  
Selection For

Landfilling remains the most common systematic technique of solid waste disposal in most of the developed and developing countries. Finding a suitable site for landfill is a very challenging task. Landfill site selection process aims to provide suitable areas that will protect the environment and public health from pollution and hazards. Therefore, various factors such as environmental, physical, socio-economic, and geological criteria must be considered before siting any landfill. This makes the site selection process vigorous and tedious because it involves the processing of large amount of spatial data, rules and regulations from different agencies and also policy from decision makers. This allows the incorporation of conflicting objectives and decision maker preferences into spatial decision models. This paper particularly analyzes the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method of landfill site selection for solid waste management by means of literature reviews and surveys. The study will help the decision makers and waste management authorities to choose the most effective method when considering landfill site selection.

scholarly journals Mathematical Modeling of the Distribution of Natural 14C, 234U, and 238U in a Regional Ground-Water System

Radiocarbon ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
F J Pearson ◽  
C J Noronha ◽  
R W Andrews
Keyword(s):  
Ground Water ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Natural Radionuclides ◽  
Water System ◽  
Residence Times ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Hydrologic Data ◽  
Regional Hydrology

Increasing concern with nuclear waste isolation technology is leading to additional studies of naturally occurring isotopes in ground water. Such studies provide information on 1) the use of radionuclides to estimate ground-water travel times and/or residence times. This information can he an extremely useful adjunct to conventional hydrologic data in developing the understanding of regional hydrology needed in the site selection process, and 2) the use of natural radionuclides as analogues to the behavior of radionuclides of concern in nuclear waste.

The Reform of Presidential Selection and Democratic Theory

1983 ◽  
Vol 16 (04) ◽  
pp. 695-698
Author(s):  
Nelson W. Polsby
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Party System ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
State Party ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Presidential Selection ◽  
American Elections ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Right

The political science profession is very far indeed from having pronounced its last word on the subject of the reforms of the presidential nomination process which have so dramatically transformed American elections and the party system. The current wave of reform began over a decade ago, and, more or less on schedule, political scientists have now begun regularly to report findings that suggest that they have been incorporating questions about the consequences of these reforms into their research.Many observers quite rightly have noted that central to debate about party reform among politicians and commentators have been questions of legitimacy that reflect varying conceptions of democratic theory. In this brief essay, I will consider a few of these questions further and speculate about the respects in which the work of political scientists might assist in resolving them.Perhaps the earliest questions arose over the changes that reform seemed to induce in the sorts of people taking part in the national party conventions. Questions arose as to their “representativeness”—and especially in light of two successive Democratic national conventions— 1968 and 1972—at which there were many challenges to the right of delegates to be present. In 1968 the complaints centered on the propriety of seating delegates selected earlier than the election year and selected through processes dominated by state party leaders rather than by the insurgent forces of protest over the war in Vietnam. These complaints were largely ineffective in influencing the outcome of the 1968 nomination, but their impact on subsequent events was substantial. They formed the basis upon which the Democratic party undertook to examine the delegate selection process in its McGovern-Fraser Commission of 1969, and people associated with these complaints staffed the Commission.

Dry-Run of Site Investigation Planning Using the Manual for Preliminary Investigation in Japan

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeki Akamura ◽  
Tadashi Miwa ◽  
Tatsuya Tanaka ◽  
Hiroshi Shiratsuchi ◽  
Atsushi Horio
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Site Investigation ◽  
Geological Environment ◽  
Geophysical Prospecting ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
Budget Planning ◽  
Planning And Management ◽  
First Editions

A stepwise site selection process has been adopted for geological disposal of HLW in Japan. Literature surveys, followed by preliminary investigations (PI) and, finally, detailed investigations in underground facilities will be carried out in the successive selection stages. In the PI stage, surface-based investigations such as borehole surveys and geophysical prospecting will be implemented. In order to conduct the PI appropriately and efficiently within a restricted timeframe and budget, planning and management of PI are very important. NUMO therefore compiled existing knowledge and experience in the planning and managing of investigations in the form of manuals to be used to improve and maintain internal expertise. The first editions of the two manuals were prepared on the basis of experience overseas, and then they were revised by taking geological environment, laws and regulation in Japan into consideration. This paper introduces the procedure of PI planning using the manual as well as the results of the dry-run, with the Yokosuka area as a hypothetical PI area, where the demonstration study is under way. Based on the dry-run, applicability of the manual is checked and, at the same time, further revisions are made to improve the content.

Centralization of Canada’s Spent Nuclear Fuel

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista Nicholson ◽  
John McDonald ◽  
Shona Draper ◽  
Brian M. Ikeda ◽  
Igor Pioro
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Candu Reactors ◽  
High Level

Currently in Canada, spent fuel produced from Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) is in the interim storage all across the country. It is Canada’s long-term strategy to have a national geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel for CANada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactors. The initial problem is to identify a means to centralize Canada’s spent nuclear fuel. The objective of this paper is to present a solution for the transportation issues that surround centralizing the waste. This paper reviews three major components of managing and the transporting of high-level nuclear waste: 1) site selection, 2) containment and 3) the proposed transportation method. The site has been selected based upon several factors including proximity to railways and highways. These factors play an important role in the site-selection process since the location must be accessible and ideally to be far from communities. For the containment of the spent fuel during transportation, a copper-shell container with a steel structural infrastructure was selected based on good thermal, structural, and corrosion resistance properties has been designed. Rail has been selected as the method of transporting the container due to both the potential to accommodate several containers at once and the extensive railway system in Canada.

Airstrip Site Selection in Coastal Labrador

1981 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-25
Author(s):  
J. D. Innes ◽  
E. H. Smith ◽  
Allan Fiander
Keyword(s):  
Site Selection ◽  
Coastal Area ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Geometric Design ◽  
Digital Mapping ◽  
Data Requirements ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Design Techniques

This paper examines a case study of the selection of nine airstrip sites in the coastal area of Labrador. The procedure used involved the procurement of better mapping for the site selection process. The benefits of this process are examined in the context of the data requirements for good airstrip selection. The site selection process is then examined utilizing state of the art digital mapping and computerized geometric design techniques.

Keeping the Doors Closed

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihail Chiru ◽  
Sergiu Gherghina
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
Leadership Selection ◽  
Systematic Exploration ◽  
Exogenous Factors ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Doors

This article is the first systematic exploration of the leadership selection process in the Romanian party system. We use process-tracing and qualitative tools, using data from party statutes and documents of the national conventions. We focus on the parliamentary political parties throughout the entire post-communist period. The analysis shows that nothing has changed at the level of centralization of decision, and inclusiveness with the members’ involvement remaining marginal in all parties. The competitiveness of the internal elections presents a more diverse and dynamic picture. We propose a novel typology for cross-case comparisons that illustrates the association between informal decentralization and increased competitiveness. Second, we advance explanations for the persistence of the “exclusiveness” status quo that take into account intraorganizational, institutional, and exogenous factors.

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