In the Beginning
Abstract
This chapter discusses the discovery of nuclear fission and how that phenomenon might be tamed to produce both weapons and electricity. It also describes the federal government&s;s early initiatives to store the waste products in vulnerable stainless-steel tanks on the surface in perpetuity . After that approach drew strong criticism, the government adopted the preferred technology of disposing the material in deep-mined, geologic repositories and set in place preliminary rules about how that might be accomplished. The chapter also includes a discussion of the “many faces of risk.”
Fields of Study & Subjects
Twentieth Century Scientific Developments
Risk Perception and Management
Nuclear and radioactivity studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 11–24
- Publication date
- 4 February 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter