Cummings, Ronald G.

English

University of New Mexico

Volume 28 
Issue 1 Environmental Dispute Resolutions 
Winter 1988 
Nuclear Imperatives and Public Trust 
Ronald G. Cummings 
Recommended Citation 
Ronald G. Cummings, Nuclear Imperatives and Public Trust, 28 Nat. Resources J. 217 (1988). 
Available at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nrj/vol28/iss1/12 
This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at UNM Digital Repository. It has 
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BOOK REVIEWS
NUCLEAR IMPERATIVES AND PUBLIC TRUST
LUTHER J. CARTER
Baltimore: Resources for the Future, 1987. 450 pp. $25.00 h.c.
Mr. Carter's book provides the reader with a detailed accounting of
the political and technical history of the growth and development of the
nuclear power industry in the United States, as well as (with lesser detail)
in other countries. His analyses of nuclear power developments in the
United States is organized around a common theme, viz, that nuclear
power is subject to two indisputable imperatives: to safeguard potential
nuclear explosives, and to contain radioactivity in reactor and fuel cycle
operations. Many, if not most, of present day political and technical
problems faced by the nuclear power industry are, in the author's mind,
attributable to the failure of responsible officials in the U.S. to adequately
recognize these imperatives in their stewardship of the industry.
Two basic themes cut across Mr. Carter's arguments as they relate to
failures of the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Com-
mission (and their predecessor agencies) in terms of their resolving prob-
lems now faced by the nuclear power industry. First, the failure of responsible
agencies to consider early on the management implications of the entire
fuel cycle has resulted in an accumulation of radiation "mishaps" which
have eroded public confidence in the government's ability to safely reg-
ulate the industry. Carter's examples in these regards focus particularly
on U.S. experiences with mill tailings and waste disposal efforts. These
failures result in what Carter describes as a "technology ahead of itself,"
a nuclear power industry relatively advanced in production methods, but
lacking in consensus as to methods for dealing other aspects of the fuel
cycle, particularly in decommissioning and waste disposal.
Secondly, but related to the above, Carter's primary concern is with
issues surrounding the disposal of nuclear wastes--both low- and high-
level wastes. He seems convinced that such wastes can be dealt with in
a manner which satisfies his imperatives, and argues for "simplicity" as
a fundamental criterion for choosing among the options involving repro-
cessing and deep storage. This criterion leads him to argue for deep storage
as a best means for dealing with the waste problem. After a review of
problems (particularly those associated with groundwater) associated with
nuclear waste storage in salt beds or salt domes, as well as in volcanic
rock (basalt and tuff), Carter (or those that he has interviewed) would
seemingly have a preference for disposal in the tuff deposits at Yucca
Mountain in Nevada (pp. 174-76).
NATURAL RESOURCES JOURNAL
While an interesting journalistic tracking of problems associated with
nuclear waste disposal, Carter's book is notably lacking in terms of efforts
to analyze socio-economic factors associated with his problem--efforts
which one would surely expect from works emanating from Resources
for the Future, Inc. This is to say that politics was not the only force
giving rise to controversy in the U.S. concerning the choice of sites for
waste disposal. As an example, economic analyses of the WIPP site
conducted by researchers at the University of New Mexico gave substance
to the "who gains-who looses" issue in the state of New Mexico, as well
as pointing to the discrepancy between safety conditions subsumed in
DOE risk estimates and actual conditions extant in the state; such analyses
of potential economic impacts were then used by the State in acquiring
federal funds to bring safety conditions to the state of the art presupposed
by risk estimates. Carter seems to have ignored these and other studies
of economic and socio-institutional dimensions of the waste disposal
problem.
Finally, Carter's book may be subject to two other relatively minor
criticism. First, he makes an admirable effort to maintain a level of
exposition which might make the book accessible to the lay reader. These
efforts are most notable in early chapters. In a number of later instances,
unfortunately he tends to become distracted by technical issues, the result
being lapses into the use of a great deal of technical jargon. In all,
however, the dedicated lay reader can get a great deal out of the book.
Secondly, Carter seems to ignore one dimension of the nuclear waste
issue which has contributed much to the public's unease with the waste
siting issued, viz, risks associated with the transportation of nuclear wastes
from sites or origin to any given waste facility. As noted by Carter, in
some cases communities in close proximity to a proposed site may wel-
come the economic benefits which may accrue as a result of public
investments in the area. The remainder of the state may then see little in
terms of direct benefits attributable to the facility, but may see what are
to them unacceptable costs associated with the risks of the transportation
of nuclear wastes through their communities.
Taken as a whole, however, Nuclear Imperatives is highly recom-
mended for the reader interested in developing some understanding as to
where the nuclear power industry now stands, how it got there, and the
general nature of the socio-political and technical issues which remain
for resolution if our society is to adequately deal with the imperatives
relevant for nuclear power.
Ronald G. Cummings
University of New Mexico
[Vol. 28


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