Year
2004
Abstract
It is well recognized that one of the key concerns for the Yucca Mountain project is to garner public and political support for the transportation and disposition of high-level nuclear waste. The State of Nevada is waging a campaign across the nation to aid its efforts in thwarting the project in its state, and will likely intensify those efforts as the repository license application is submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Nevada and its surrogates are using the Internet, newspapers and other media for disseminating information which is largely aimed at frightening and inflaming the public. Other adversary organizations are using the same tactics based upon a long-term strategy to discredit legitimate scientific facts and well-reasoned national policies. There is not a comparable effort to convey factual information from organizations advocating the responsible solution to the transportation, storage and disposition of High Level Waste (HLW) and Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF). The information available from advocacy and/or neutral groups is generally very technical, not geared to public understanding, and it is not focused on the issues of importance to the public. Overall it does not answer questions local officials face in dealing with public concerns. Also the information tends to be defensive and reactive lacking an overall long-term strategic approach. This paper will describe the current status of public information programs, indicate their deficiencies, discuss the features of successful public information campaigns, and recommend a future course of action.