An Immodest Proposal for Dealing with Radioactive Wastes

The problem of disposal of nuclear wastes is more political than technical. Essentially all high-level waste accident scenarios involve at worst exposure to levels of radiation that are so low as to be in the range where health effects, if they exist, are miniscule. However, states and localities are refusing to be considered as locations for monitored and retrievable, or permanent geological, repository facilities. Such opposition is not on the basis of safety, but rather on the implications which such a "waste dump" would have for the area. It is proposed that a fund be established, for example $100 million per year, to be paid to a state to compensate for any presumed disadvantages of accepting a nuclear waste storage or disposal facility.