The Wicked Problem of Long Term Radioactive Waste Governance

Abstract

The disposal of high-level radioactive waste deals with new challenges that can be classified as wicked problems. In the following, the article presents ten central characteristics of wicked problems linking them to political, economic and social challenges associated with siting and the disposal of radioactive waste. The ten characteristics are:

The national context (1), as wicked problems are determined by the political, social and cultural background of a country; the changing narratives (2), as a wicked problem can never be explained solely by objective facts; the socio-technical challenge (3), as a blueprint for solving a wicked problem does not exist; the double jeopardy situation (4), as a repository poses dangers to the protection of people and the environment; the systemic risk (5), as inherent, technical, institutional and human factors intertwine; the vast time scales (6), as the wicked problem of siting is only understood once the search process is completed; the linked layers (7), as wicked problems can be attributed to different levels of actions; the landscape of conflicting actors (8), as differences in ideologies and interests provoke conflicts; the boundaries of science (9), as a wicked problem must be interand transdisciplinarily managed; the challenged democracy (10), as transparency and participatory procedures go beyond classical representative forms of democracy. In the end, the ten characteristics are structured into three core dimensions; physical, technical and social problems.