Institutional designs for long-term stewardship of nuclear and hazardous waste sites

Abstract

Within the borders of the United States reside numerous nuclear and hazardous waste sites that will pose risks to humans and ecosystems for many centuries, and in some cases several millennia. This paper evaluates several designs for an institution to act as the steward for these sites. To offer lessons learned about the characteristics of long-lasting human institutions, several that have existed for hundreds and thousands of years are reviewed, including the Dominican monastic order, the Sangha community of Buddhist monks, and universities such as those located in Oxford and Paris. Six alternative institutional designs are evaluated over a set of four evaluation criteria. It is recommended that the United States establish a new type of secular nonprofit institution, entitled The Stewardship Institution, to act as steward for the sites. This option is judged most able to focus on the mission of stewardship, meet its technical challenges, survive inevitable periods of political and economic instabilities, and meet current generation cost and implementation concerns. Other institutions considered include a consolidated national stewardship organization, a religious organization, and a new state of the union called the Legacy State.