Nuclear Futures - a seminar series to re-make sociotechnical research agendas

Geological disposal (GD) of radioactive waste, in deep underground repositories, was first proposed in the US in the '50s yet rarely has final disposal of waste been at the forefront of government and industry concerns. Much waste has been in 'interim storage' for decades. Meanwhile, more is produced through ongoing energy production. The GD approach to civil waste has crept up national policy agendas following an EU Directive in 2011 and the EU's Technology Platform determination that first disposal operations should begin somewhere in Europe by 2025. At various speeds, EU Member States are conducting further scientific research, progressing decisions on where to site GD and undertaking various forms of public engagement. Many countries have made limited headway or have deferred implementation decisions, while Finland has made 'most' progress against the Directive targets and now holds permission to start construction of disposal facilities. The publication of the UK Government White Paper 'Implementing Geological Disposal' in July 2014 (IGD2014) sets out a process to decide on the siting and building of a UK facility. Learning from earlier policy breakdowns the new policy promises to "provide a permanent solution" for the UK's existing and planned higher activity radioactive waste.

The implementation of geological disposal - like many topics on nuclear matters - prompts numerous questions of social, technical, political and ethical character. The Series' primary focus is on nuclear waste, its management and proposed final disposal. However, radioactive waste is interwoven with multiple other concerns including: government policy on building new nuclear plants as part of an energy mix and a low carbon future; and ongoing and future decommissioning projects. For some, these discussions cannot be separated from military affairs, further entangling issues up for debate.

Social science academics have written on nuclear topics in the past and under different policy conditions. However, it is timely to question these earlier works and to enlarge the arena of debate, expanding the social perspectives and including the technical. The goal is to transform thinking to address radioactive waste as a sociotechnical matter and to vitalise our research capacity.

The proposed Series will build on an ESRC initiative in multi-disciplinary research training funded in 2013. That scheme enabled an experimental collaboration between social scientists associated with the White Rose DTC and engineers from the EPSRC-funded Nuclear First CDT. We now seek to expand this research potential beyond training provision and expand to include policy implementation concerns.

In 7 meetings, over two and half years, the Series will bring social scientists from different disciplines together, alongside academic engineering communities, policy and industry bodies.
Each meeting will involve talks from academic and non-academic partners, small group discussions, plenary sessions and activities. The seminars will provide opportunities for social science academics to connect directly to technical research communities and to non-academic bodies involved in GD policy. Policy bodies and engineering researchers will experience the process of social science debate and be exposed to critical thinking on their technical concerns. The meetings will thus enable knowledge exchange between groups that do not regularly interact, including social science researchers with technical policy implementation bodies. Meetings will be concurrent with specific aspects of the IGD2014 policy process: the possibility to inform ongoing implementation work makes the Series particularly timely.

The significance and importance of the Series is evidenced by letters of support from key non-academic bodies and the substantial co-funding of the proposal.

Output will include academic talks and papers; policy briefings; reports and designs for engagement activities

The overall goal is to provide a forum in which social science, engineering, policy and industry participants can learn, discuss, appreciate and act on, key thinking around the disposal of UK higher level radioactive waste. Social science has much to offer debates around these wastes yet they can often be detached from the technical and policy communities conducting and implementing research in the area, or are focused solely on handling public perception issues. The tradition of research - centred on science and technology studies - which aims to re-frame technical problems as socio-technical matters is largely absent so far. A major impact will therefore be the building of capacity in the social scientific study of nuclear waste, to define new concepts to inform policy implementation and to reframe problem definitions in technical communities.

The White Paper 'Implementing Geological Disposal' (IGD2014) provides a starting point for seminar discussions, although multiple issues for debate will spin out from this on broader science and society concerns and be of interest to wide constituencies. A European lens will provide insight on implementation processes elsewhere, expanding the scope for impact across EU countries. Experience from the halted US policy process will be sought.

Direct beneficiaries include the institutions participating in the series: from social science and engineering academics to policy and industry bodies.
The Series will bring together social scientists who have studied the nuclear realm for a long time with those newer to the topic area, with doctoral and early career researchers, providing a 'generational hand-over' in the study of radioactive matter that has lifetimes of many thousands of years. The diversity of social science perspectives being introduced promises lively encounters that will build capacity to research and to act, and will contribute to reframing policy and practical debates. Participants from technical research communities may be engaging with social science perspectives for the first time. The cross-discipline meetings will provoke multiple challenges to how we conceptualise the science -society boundary far beyond issues of waste disposal.

Key partners from non-academic institutions have been involved since conception of the Series, including Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) the body charged with leading implementation of IGD2014. RWM and British Geological Survey (BGS) specifically have interests in the discussions and outcomes of the Series work. The seminars will run concurrently with early stage policy actions, including a geological screening process and development of a community engagement strategy. The seminars will offer the opportunity to widen debates on the character of these processes and develop understandings of their scope, limitations and implications. Rather than being the recipients of a meeting summary or final report, RWM, BGS and other relevant organisations (e.g. DECC, EDF Energy, National Nuclear Laboratories) will be directly involved in the discussions.

In the design of seminars much emphasis is placed on the process of involvement and in ensuring that relevant actors from multiple sectors are co-present. This direct approach to knowledge exchange is intended to maximise impact through intense dialogue and networking opportunities. The meetings will involve a mixture of formal and informal occasions for debate and learning and will produce a varied range of outputs.

There is the potential for the UK as a whole and other EU countries to benefit from the Series. The policy of geological disposal is an EU-wide imperative. Many questions remain about how national instances of implementation will progress, what sociotechnical hurdles may be met along the way; what the near and far implications are for societies; whether this is the "permanent solution" the White Paper suggests; and what roles social science may play in the mix.