Stichting Laka

Publicatie Laka-bibliotheek:
Specifying the Concept of Future Generations for Addressing Issues Related to High-Level Radioactive Waste

Auteur	Celine Kermisch
	6-01-5-50-92.pdf
Datum	december 2015
Classificatie	6.01.5.50/92 (AFVAL - ALGEMEEN)
Voorkant

Specifying the Concept of Future Generations for Addressing Issues 
Related to High-Level Radioactive Waste
Celine Kermisch
Received: 7 September 2015 / Accepted: 8 December 2015

Abstract
The nuclear community frequently refers to the concept of ‘‘future
generations’’ when discussing the management of high-level radioactive waste.
However, this notion is generally not defined. In this context, we have to assume a
wide definition of the concept of future generations, conceived as people who will
live after the contemporary people are dead. This definition embraces thus each
generation following ours, without any restriction in time. The aim of this paper is
to show that, in the debate about nuclear waste, this broad notion should be further
specified and to clarify the related implications for nuclear waste management
policies. Therefore, we provide an ethical analysis of different management
strategies for high-level waste in the light of two principles, protection of future
generations—based on safety and security—and respect for their choice. This
analysis shows that high-level waste management options have different ethical
impacts across future generations, depending on whether the memory of the waste
and its location is lost, or not. We suggest taking this distinction into account by
introducing the notions of ‘‘close future generations’’ and ‘‘remote future generations’’,
which has important implications on nuclear waste management policies
insofar as it stresses that a retrievable disposal has fewer benefits than usually
assumed.