The Legacy Ponds and Silos (LP&S) facilities are part of the UK nuclear legacy located at the Sellafield Site, Cumbria. There are four individual facilities containing nuclear wastes that have accumulated over a period of approximately 50 years. Waste retrieval and conditioning, in preparation for decommissioning, is currently being carried out by the site operator. LP&S have recently proposed a re-engagement with stakeholders following the initial engagement in December 2005. This paper reviews this earlier engagement in terms of the nature of dialogue that was carried out when compared against definitions of deliberation provided in the literature. The aim of this paper is to provide those planning future engagement with a better understanding of how the nature of dialogue can vary and uses participation and deliberation as indicators of effective engagement. A concern of those working towards a programme of effective stakeholder participation in 2005 was how to ensure genuine dialogue and stakeholder representation in such a strictly controlled and regulated environment with a technical complexity that challenges technical specialist and layperson alike. LP&S recognised that effective dialogue with stakeholders on the available technical options and their associated societal impacts would form a significant part of this process if options were to prove resilient. However, the challenge presented to LP&S was how to engage stakeholders on a variety of projects, whilst ensuring the output could be used by the projects as part of their technical decision making. Initial contact was made with stakeholders in December 2005, as part of a ‘Baseline’ Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) study. A BPEO study leads to decisions on waste management based on an integrated assessment of alternative options, on the basis of factors such as the occupational and environmental risks, the environmental impacts, costs and social implications of the options. An engagement framework was also developed by LP&S to understand the engagement within the context of that taking place nationally and internationally. LP&S plan to reconvene stakeholders as part of the commitment made to them in 2006 to review progress on decommissioning projects. Currently, the strategy by which this will be achieved is unclear, however it is proposed that rather than full engagement, LP&S will provide a series of information updates to the West Cumbria Site Stakeholder Group (WCSSG). Representing local interests only and potentially reducing the opportunity for deliberation, further research is recommended to assess the nature of dialogue and the role of deliberation in this type of forum.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME 2009 12th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management
October 11–15, 2009
Liverpool, UK
Conference Sponsors:
- Nuclear Engineering Division and Environmental Engineering Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-4408-3
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Stakeholder Participation for the Legacy Ponds and Legacy Silos (LP&LS) Facility at Sellafield, Cumbria, UK: The Nature and Effectiveness of the Dialogue
John Whitton
John Whitton
UK National Nuclear Laboratory, Warrington, Cheshire, UK
Search for other works by this author on:
John Whitton
UK National Nuclear Laboratory, Warrington, Cheshire, UK
Paper No:
ICEM2009-16030, pp. 737-747; 11 pages
Published Online:
December 12, 2010
Citation
Whitton, J. "Stakeholder Participation for the Legacy Ponds and Legacy Silos (LP&LS) Facility at Sellafield, Cumbria, UK: The Nature and Effectiveness of the Dialogue." Proceedings of the ASME 2009 12th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management. ASME 2009 12th International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management, Volume 2. Liverpool, UK. October 11–15, 2009. pp. 737-747. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/ICEM2009-16030
Download citation file:
4
Views
0
Citations
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
Nuclear Power and Nuclear Technologies Can Benefit From Regional Implementation of Multinational Approaches
ASME J of Nuclear Rad Sci (October,2022)
Comparative Risk Assessment of Alternative TLP Systems: Structure and
Foundation Aspects
J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng (May,1994)
Decommissioning of Nuclear Submarines and the Interim Storage of Their Reactor Compartments
ASME J. Risk Uncertainty Part B (December,2022)
Related Chapters
Clean Closure Techniques
Guidebook for Waste and Soil Remediation: For Nonhazardous Petroleum and Salt Contaminated Sites
Megacity Waste Management Dialogue: Review of Workshop Findings
Proceedings of 2018 EEC/WTERT Conference
Movement Towards Circular Economy and E.U. Waste Management Regulation
Proceedings of 2018 EEC/WTERT Conference