Management of Commercially Generated Radioactive Waste - U.S. ...

G.1
APPENDIX G
REFERENCE SITES FOR ASSESSING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS
A generic assessment of socioeconomic impacts incorporates the assumption that various
sites may be under consideration for development of nuclear waste management facilities.
Since the potential sites may differ considerably in their distinguishing characteristics
(e.g., population size, composition, and distribution; industrial composition of the labor
force; and availability of social services) it is necessary to examine the potential effects
of energy facilities on several alternative sites. For example, it is reasonable to assume
that a highly urbanized community offering a wide range of services to residents will expe-
rience fewer negative effects from the construction and operation of a project than will a
sparsely populated rural community. In the latter, even a relatively small project could
produce disruptive effects.
In addition to considering alternative reference sites, it is also necessary to assess
the effects of several types of nuclear waste management facilities. These facilities dif-
fer substantially in terms of the length of time and the number of workers needed for con-
struction, the number of workers required for planned operation, the potential hazards
created through storage and transportation of noxious materials, and the amount of land
occupied. Thus, it is reasonable to expect that the variety and degree of socioeconomic
impacts will differ according to the facility in question.
Each of the three reference sites utilized in the assessment of social and economic
impacts is based on realistic conditions chosen on the basis of criteria listed below. They
should not be construed to represent an endorsement of any specific site for facility loca-
tion. Since the reference sites are to be used in a generic or hypothetical sense, source
references supporting the descriptive material are presented in terms of their broad, gen-
eral areas rather than in specific terms (see Table G.2.1). One of the three reference
sites coincides with the reference environment described to in Appendix F.
G.i CRITERIA FOR REFERENCE SITE SELECTION
To permit an assessment of a wide range of variation in impacts, three reference sites
were selected for analysis from a larger number of possible locations for nuclear waste
facilities on the basis of two criteria:
o population size. The three sites vary markedly in terms of the total number of
inhabitants at the site and in the surrounding region.
o population distribution. The three sites exhibit variations in population density
and degree of urbanization.