A critical review of nuclear power plant decommissioning planning studies

During the past decade there have been at least ten major efforts to perform comprehensive, analytical studies of the complex issues associated with decommissioning civilian nuclear power plants. These planning efforts are reviewed, using the standard framework of technology assessment. In particular, each study is analysed to determine the degree to which formal methods of decision analysis have been employed to evaluate options and make recommendations and the degree to which formal methods of consensus have been employed to engage citizen involvement and promote public acceptance. Not unexpectedly, we find that the greatest strides in decommissioning analyses have been made in forecasting the economic costs of decommissioning to licensees. Comparatively few improvements have been made in the processes used to compare the impacts of alternative technologies more broadly, or to address the legitimate concerns of interested parties more widely. (author)