Investigation on the Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste in View of Humanities and Social Sciences

In nuclear power generation, which utilizes the energy released through nuclear fission, various radioactive nuclides are inevitably generated. In particular, the long-term safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), which contains radionuclides with high radioactivity levels and long half-lives, has long been a concern in countries that use nuclear power. These countries plan to dispose of HLW deep underground (i.e., geological disposal) so that it would not affect human health and the environment in the distant future. However, they face difficulties in reaching a social consensus on the selection of burial disposal sites and the method of ensuring the safety of disposal facilities. It would take a long time before geological disposal will be implemented. The authors recognize that in order to improve this current worrying situation, it is important to consider the issue from humanity and social science perspectives, in addition to explanations from a science and engineering perspective as has been done so far and have exchanged information and opinions at the “Special Study Group on Considerations from a Humanities and Social Science Perspective on the Management and Disposal of Radioactive Waste,” which was established by the Japan Health Physics Society in 2022. This paper reports on the knowledge and ideas shared and agreed upon through these discussions over approximately two years.