ABSTRACT
The social impacts resulting from the development of a high-level nuclear waste repository are likely to be extensive. Such impacts often receive widespread coverage in the media and are often the basis of demands by local residents for greater community involvement in the siting process, for mitigation efforts, and for litigation that may delay or stop a development. The identification and measurement of social impacts resulting from a repository development represent some very difficult problems since many social impacts are extremely difficult to quantify. The chapter discusses different types of social impacts, and describes types of social assessment methods which can be used to measure such impacts. It also presents a means of integrating these research methods in a holistic assessment approach. The effects of large-scale developments, such as a repository, on the values, attitudes, and perceptions of both new and longtime residents in impacted communities have received more empirical attention than the analysis of social organization.
