Decision Making for Energy Futures: A Case Study of the Windscale Inquiry PDF
Preview Decision Making for Energy Futures: A Case Study of the Windscale Inquiry
DECISION MAKING FOR ENERGY FUTURES Also by David W. Pearce COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS CAPITAL INVESTMENT APPRAISAL (with C. J. Hawkins) COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS: THEORY AND PRACTICE (with A. Dasgupta) THE ECONOMICS OF NATURAL RESOURCE DEPLETION (editor) ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS PRICE THEORY (with W. J. L. Ryan) RESOURCE CONSERVATION: THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF RECYCLING (co-editor with I. Walter) THE VALUATION OF SOCIAL COST (editor) DECISION MAKING FOR ENERGY FUTURES A Case Study of the Windscale Inquiry David Pearce, Lynne Edwards and Geoff Beuret © Social Science Research Council 1979 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover lst edition 1979 978-0-333-27438-5 Ali rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission First published 1979 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated companies in Delhi Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg Lagos Me/bourne New York Singapore Tokyo British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Pearce, David William Decision making for energy futures l. Atomic energy - Great Britain 2. Energy policy-Great Britain 3. Decision-making 1. Title Il. Edwards, Lynne III. Beuret, Geoff IV. Social Science Research Council (Great Britain) 621.48'0941 TK9057 ISBN 978-1-349-04987-5 ISBN 978-1-349-04985-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-04985-1 This book is so/d subject to the standard conditions of the Net Book Agreement Essentially, the challenge facing policy makers is how to devise acceptable and practical methods of reaching collective decisions for a technology that involves risks that some people find unacceptable, dissenting minorities who oppose the siting of nuclear plants in their locality, poor understanding of the technical issues among the public and disagreement among technical experts. Clearly, there are no panaceas, for it is a uniquely difficult problem to adapt decision making procedures to accommodate a wide range of viewpoints on the technical, environmental and political aspects of nuclear power. John Surrey and Charlotte Huggett 'Opposition to Nuclear Power: a Review of International Experience', Energy Policy, December 1976 Contents Note X Acknowledgements xi Glossary of Abbreviations and Technical Terms xiv I Introduction 2 UK Energy Policy 7 Introduction 7 The Objectives of Energy Policy 8 The Forecasts II The Nuclear Programme 12 An Alternative Scenario 15 Appendix to Chapter 2 The Nuclear Construction 19 Programme in the Leach Scenario 3 Efficient Decision Procedures 21 The Democratic Requirement 21 A Model of Agenda Setting 28 Investments versus Programmes 36 Information and Participation 44 Funding the Opposition 52 Independence of Assessment 55 Adversarial Contexts 56 Summary of Criteria for Efficiency 57 4 Existing Advisory Institutions I 65 General 65 (i) Ad Hoc Royal Commission 66 (ii) The Departmental Committee 71 (iii) Standing Royal Commission 72 vii viii Contents (iv) Parliamentary Select Committee 74 (v) The Parliamentary Private Bill 75 (vi) The Ombudsman 77 (vii) The Planning Inquiry Commission 79 An Overview of Institutions 85 5 Existing Advisory Institutions II 89 The Public Local Inquiry 89 Rights and Duties of Participants in the Referred LPI 91 Judicial Review of the LPI 98 The Participants' Standing in a Court of Law 100 Corrective Measures I 04 Implications for the Planning Inquiry Commission I 08 6 The Windscale Inquiry: Technical Background Ill Introduction Ill The Nuclear Fuel Cycle 112 Reprocessing and Waste Management 121 Waste Management 123 7 The Windscale Inquiry: The Proceedings 130 Introduction 130 The Terms of Reference 133 The Timetable of Events 134 The Participants 140 The Arguments 141 (a) Routine Releases of Radiation 141 (b) Energy Futures 150 (c) Reprocessing versus Storage of Spent Fuels 156 (d) The Economics of THORP 160 (e) Proliferation 167 (f) Civil Liberties 174 Appendix to Chapter 7 The Calculation of Radiation Dose Effects 182 8 Was the Windscale Inquiry Efficient? 184 Contents ix 9 The Institutional Future 194 Introduction 194 The Energy Commission 196 The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution 197 Commission on Energy and the Environment 198 An Energy Policy Commission 200 Reform of Planning Procedures 205 (a) Local Inquiries and National Issues 205 (b) The Pre-inquiry Period 208 (c) Information 210 (d) Status of Parties 212 (e) The Inquiry 213 10 Whither Nuclear Opposition? 219 11 Postscript 227 APPENDIX 1 Who Was Who at the Windscale Inquiry 236 APPENDIX 2 Summary of Written and Parlia mentary Protests about the WPI Report 263 APPENDIX 3 International Linkages in Nuclear Fuel Services 274 APPENDIX 4 Attitudes of other Countries towards Reprocessing 279 APPENDIX 5 Existing Commissions 285 APPENDIX 6 Text of letter from Joseph Nye to Patrick Moberley, 19 December 1977 290 Author Index 292 Subject Index 294 Note This report was commissioned by the Energy Panel of the SSRC from Professor D. W. Pearce with the aim of identifying what we could learn from the proceedings of the Windscale Inquiry that might help the conduct of future public discussion on energy matters. The report is not intended to reflect the views of the Energy Panel, but the Panel believes it is a most useful contribution to public debate. The Energy Panel is an SSRC initiative whose aim is to promote and encourage social scientific and inter-disciplinary research into matters connected with energy. Its members (all of whom serve in a personal capacity, and not as representatives of their institutions) are: Michael Posner (Chairman) Professor P. Odell Social Science Research Council, Erasmus University Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge M. J. Parker Professor P. M. Abell National Coal Board Birmingham University Professor D. W. Pearce F. Colmer Aberdeen University Central Electricity Generating Board Professor Ian Fells I. Smart Newcastle University Independent consultant The Lord Flowers, F.R.S. A. J. Surrey Imperial College of Science Science Policy Research & Technology Unit, Sussex University Professor David Henderson Corresponding member Department of Political Economy R. L. Nicholson University College London United Kingdom Atomic T. A. Kennedy Energy Authority Department of Energy Dr. B. D. Jones J. V. Mitchell Science Research Coun British Petroleum Co. Ltd. cil Assessor X
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