MAINTAINING A CONTESTED DECISION: THE CASE OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE’S DISPOSAL

Abstract

Since its inception, the French policy for radioactive waste management has been based on
an an initial decision to dispose of the most dangerous waste in a geological repository. This
decision was made by the scientific and technical leaders of the nuclear industry and has
been regularly criticized by actors inside and outside the nuclear sector. In response to these
challenges, the leaders of the sector have enlisted an increasing number of critical players to
involve them in maintaining this decision, but the principle of geological disposal itself has never
been the subject of further discussion. This article studies in detail this strategy of assimilation
of criticism and highlights the multitude of actors and devices that have made it possible to
maintain this decision since the 1970s.