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

5.61
impacts would be greatest for the repository in salt. Mitigating procedures may be neces-
sary to control this potential threat to the environment. Impacts of fugitive dust were
discussed in Section 5.4.4.
5.4.6.5 Socioeconomic Impacts
Socioeconomic impacts associated with the construction and operation of repositories
are dependent largely on the number of persons who move into the locality in which the
facility will be located. Because of this, the size of the local project-generated popula-
tion influx was forecasted, and estimates of their needs for locally provided social ser-
vices were determined. Specific economic and fiscal impacts attributable to the development
of the repository cannot be treated here because they are too site dependent
Socioeconomic impacts also depend on site characteristics (see DOE/ET-0029, Appendix C)
and the assumptions used for forecasting. Site characteristics that are especially impor-
tant in influencing the size of the impacts include the availability of a skilled local
labor force, secondary employment, proximity to a metropolitan area, and demographic diver-
sity (population size, degree of urbanization, etc.) of counties in the commuting region.
An additional factor in the generation of impacts is the time pattern of project-associated
population change. For example, a large labor force buildup followed closely by rapidly
declining project employment demand could cause serious economic and social disruptions near
the site and elsewhere within the commuting region.
Impacts are estimated for three reference sites, identified as Southeast, Midwest, and
Southwest (see Appendix G). These areas were chosen because they differ substantially in
demographic characteristics, thus providing a reasonable range of socioeconomic impacts.
The socioeconomic model employed in this analysis first forecasts a regional population
in 5-yr intervals in the absence of any project activities. This population forecast serves
both as a comparative baseline and as a source for a portion of the postulated future project
employment. The model takes into account both primary (project related) and secondary
employment effects (such as additional retail store clerks) and incorporates as separate
components spouses of members of the labor force and other dependents. Projected residences
of regional migrants associated with the project are distributed to counties throughout the
commuting region. The model accounts for separation and retirement from project employment
and replacement by new labor force members. It also accounts for the tendency of workers
and their dependents to leave the region upon job separation.
In the following analysis, impacts are presented in terms of an expected level of
impact. Maximum levels of impact were also calculated and appear in DOE/ET-0029. The
expected impact condition is based on the most likely value of model assumptions, whereas
the maximum impact condition places an extreme but credible value on the model assumption.
Table 5.4.16 presents the manpower requirements for construction and operation of a
single waste repository involving spent fuel or reprocessing of wastes.
Table 5.4.17 presents estimates of the cumulative project-related in-migrants for the
three reference repository sites in salt. Similar estimates were made for granite, shale,