Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 125422 |
| Journal | Journal of hazardous materials |
| Volume | 414 |
| Early online date | 26 Feb 2021 |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Jul 2021 |
Abstract
Partly due to failed approaches in nuclear waste (NW) governance, years of high levels of attention have resulted in novel, more participatory avenues in Switzerland and other countries. What can be said about the case of conventional hazardous waste (CHW) from households? What technical and legal aspects are similar to or different from those of the NW domain? How does the public perceive CHW and its handling? We address these (so far) open questions in this study that comprises multiple methodological approaches. We combine a technical and system assessment with a societal (perception) assessment, based on a representative survey (N = 3082) among the German-speaking population of Switzerland. We draw some conclusions for a possible way forward in hazardous waste policy and governance. We find a remarkable disparity between technical analysis and public perception. The community should discuss whether the current NW management is forward-looking and may serve as a model for CHW. For CHW, the multiplicity of agents and the heterogeneity of substances may make the situation too complex, non-transparent, and thus less salient in the public perception. Paradoxically, the ubiquity of conventional waste, traditional community landfills, and everyday handling of some waste may make it appear less alarming than NW.
Keywords
- Conventional hazardous waste, Governance, Nuclear/radioactive waste, Risk perception, Technical safety assessment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Science(all)
- Environmental Chemistry
- Environmental Science(all)
- Waste Management and Disposal
- Environmental Science(all)
- Pollution
- Environmental Science(all)
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Journal of hazardous materials, Vol. 414, 125422, 15.07.2021.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Sharp discrepancies between nuclear and conventional toxic waste
T2 - Technical analysis and public perception
AU - Seidl, Roman
AU - Flüeler, Thomas
AU - Krütli, Pius
N1 - Funding Information: We thank Corinne Moser and Matthias Dhum for their contributions to the survey development. We are also grateful to Dario Pedolin for the data analysis. For this research, we received funding from Swissnuclear and the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra).
PY - 2021/7/15
Y1 - 2021/7/15
N2 - Partly due to failed approaches in nuclear waste (NW) governance, years of high levels of attention have resulted in novel, more participatory avenues in Switzerland and other countries. What can be said about the case of conventional hazardous waste (CHW) from households? What technical and legal aspects are similar to or different from those of the NW domain? How does the public perceive CHW and its handling? We address these (so far) open questions in this study that comprises multiple methodological approaches. We combine a technical and system assessment with a societal (perception) assessment, based on a representative survey (N = 3082) among the German-speaking population of Switzerland. We draw some conclusions for a possible way forward in hazardous waste policy and governance. We find a remarkable disparity between technical analysis and public perception. The community should discuss whether the current NW management is forward-looking and may serve as a model for CHW. For CHW, the multiplicity of agents and the heterogeneity of substances may make the situation too complex, non-transparent, and thus less salient in the public perception. Paradoxically, the ubiquity of conventional waste, traditional community landfills, and everyday handling of some waste may make it appear less alarming than NW.
AB - Partly due to failed approaches in nuclear waste (NW) governance, years of high levels of attention have resulted in novel, more participatory avenues in Switzerland and other countries. What can be said about the case of conventional hazardous waste (CHW) from households? What technical and legal aspects are similar to or different from those of the NW domain? How does the public perceive CHW and its handling? We address these (so far) open questions in this study that comprises multiple methodological approaches. We combine a technical and system assessment with a societal (perception) assessment, based on a representative survey (N = 3082) among the German-speaking population of Switzerland. We draw some conclusions for a possible way forward in hazardous waste policy and governance. We find a remarkable disparity between technical analysis and public perception. The community should discuss whether the current NW management is forward-looking and may serve as a model for CHW. For CHW, the multiplicity of agents and the heterogeneity of substances may make the situation too complex, non-transparent, and thus less salient in the public perception. Paradoxically, the ubiquity of conventional waste, traditional community landfills, and everyday handling of some waste may make it appear less alarming than NW.
KW - Conventional hazardous waste
KW - Governance
KW - Nuclear/radioactive waste
KW - Risk perception
KW - Technical safety assessment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85102367497&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125422
DO - 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125422
M3 - Article
C2 - 34030397
AN - SCOPUS:85102367497
VL - 414
JO - Journal of hazardous materials
JF - Journal of hazardous materials
SN - 0304-3894
M1 - 125422
ER -