Risk management and organizational systems for high-level radioactive waste disposal: Issues and priorities

The discussion to follow explores the nature of the high-level radioactive waste disposal tasks and their implications for the design and organizational structure of effective risk management systems. We organize this discussion in a set of interrelated tasks that draw upon both relevant theory and accumulated experience. Specifically these tasks are to assess the management implications of the high levels of technical and social uncertainty that characterize the technology and mission; to identify the elements of organizational theory that bear upon risk management system design; to explore these theoretical issues in the context of two hypothetical risk scenarios associated with radioactive waste disposal; to consider the appropriate role of engineered and geological barriers; to examine briefly issues implicit in DOE's past waste management performance, with special attention to the Hanford facility; and to suggest findings and recommendations that require further attention. 74 refs