The Changing Role of Native Americans and Stakeholders in Decisions Concerning Nuclear Facilities

For 15 years the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP) has been involved in providing technical and policy assistance to several Department of Energy Sites in the area of Environmental Management. CRESP is an independent consortium of Universities that includes the author's affiliations, as well as Oregon State University, Howard University, University of Pittsburgh, and New York University. Over this period of time, the role of a Native Americans and a range of stakeholders (including government, private and commercial interests) has changed from the provision of information to inclusion of different entities in both the development and the execution of the research that has led to closure of sites (Amchitka Island) or to facilitate the necessary steps to reach Records of Decision (RODs). Several models developed by CRESP have shown success, including 1) combining the assessment of perceptions and consumption patterns of fisher-folk with examination of mercury loads in fish to provide site-specific information that could lead to risk reduction and the creation of a fish fact sheet that informed those most at risk (Savannah River Site, Oak Ridge), 2) assessing perceptions of appropriate land use and recreational rates to address future land use (Savannah River Site, Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory), 3) examining and evaluating perceptions of the communication process involved in remedial investigations, feasibility studies, and contaminant analysis during the process leading to development of RODs (Hanford), and 4) the development and execution of a science plan and a bio-monitoring plan that led to closure of an underground nuclear testing site (Amchitka). In the latter case a wide range of stakeholders were actively involved in the development of ideas at each stage, including Aleut Native Americans who participated in the scientific expedition to collect specimens for radionuclide analysis. These examples are used to build a conceptual model for Native American and stakeholder inclusion beyond only communication to the process of obtaining the science necessary to answer risk-based questions relating to human health and the environment. This research was supported by the Department of Energy (DE-FC01-06EW07053). (authors)