Value Based Decision Approach to Help Inform Waste Management Guidance for VLLW Following an RDD Detonation - 19510

The detonation of a radiological dispersal device in an urban environment or similar large-scale radiological event has the potential to spread radioactive contamination over a large area. The resulting effort to clean up and dispose of this waste will involve input and coordination from a wide variety of stakeholder groups, especially if the waste crosses municipal and state boundaries. Guidance designed to help effectively and safely deal with the wastes generated from incident cleanup will need to navigate the intersection of stakeholders at the local, regional, and national levels. At the same time, the sheer size of such a cleanup effort and the volumes of wastes generated will require innovative and potentially novel solutions compared to current Low-Level Radioactive Waste disposal practices. A structured decision-making approach incorporating value-focused thinking is one method that could be employed to help build stakeholder confidence in a given cleanup guidance strategy and documentation. This approach would help ensure that all stakeholder perspectives were accounted for in a given decision situation and to promote transparency in the decision-making process. This paper will discuss research into the role and development of a public stakeholder tool used to gather input from relevant stakeholders in order to help inform cleanup and disposal guidance of Very Low-Level Radioactive Waste following a radiological disaster. This tool is being designed to draw on aspects of value-focused decision making. Case studies from two prominent recent events will be discussed to illustrate some of the key issues that could benefit from such an approach to stakeholders. (authors)