Session: 07-01 - Public Involvement, Crosscutting Issues, Global Participation

Paper Number: 110228

110228 - Gaining Public Acceptance Towards Nuclear Waste Disposal 

Correspondingly to the growing need for fossil-free electricity to cut down global CO₂ emissions, a request for clean energy technology is broadening the market for nuclear energy. Whilst there are obvious and solid arguments for nuclear new build, the issue of the management of high-level nuclear waste hamstrings the communication of the benefits of nuclear energy. “The unresolved” waste problem is an argument with what nuclear communicators will surely encounter sooner or later in their endeavors to speak in favor of nuclear energy. At the same time, communicators must admit that there is no empirical evidence on the long-term safety of disposal, let alone that references to operating final repositories for high-lever nuclear waste exist. Despite of the challenges in nuclear waste communication, it is possible to gain public acceptance for nuclear waste disposal. For example, in Finland the site for the final repository of spent nuclear fuel was accepted by the locals and by the Parliament already 22 years ago, making it possible to proceed to the construction of the final repository during this decade. One of the factors of the successful siting is a communication strategy that identifies objectives, issues and result indicators for communication aligning these elements to be applied with different key stakeholders. The presentation focuses on the elements of the holistic communication strategy that is applicable to long-term siting projects for nuclear repositories.

Presenting Author: Timo Seppälä Mitta Engineering Oy

Presenting Author Biography: Timo Seppälä has more than 20 years of experience from different disciplines of nuclear waste management. He was responsible of corporate communications of the Finnish nuclear waste management company Posiva Oy during 1998-2015 and thereafter he has worked as a nuclear waste management expert in the engineering companies Saanio & Riekkola, A-insinöörit and currently Mitta Engineering, consulting Finnish and foreign organisations in their repository projects. Expertise of Timo Seppälä covers various disciplines of nuclear waste management, particularly site selection processes and strategies for repositories and related communications with different stakeholders.