ABSTRACT
Nuclear waste management and repository siting are complex, multifaceted phenomena involving dimensions that become inextricably interrelated in the public mind and in public debate. This chapter provides an overview of the interrelationships among the dimensions and, thus, of the total complex that is the nuclear waste problem. The concerns discussed reflect both technically plausible and technically implausible events which are perceived as plausible by significant numbers of persons and which are thus real in their consequences for affecting human attitudes and behaviors. The concept of Population refers to the unit of persons adapting to a set of environmental circumstances. The chapter explores the population, organizational, environmental, and technology-based interrelations that form the complex of factors affecting nuclear waste management and repository siting. It is evident that among the major dimensions of critical concern in waste management and repository siting are those related to individual, group and society needs, rights, and responsibilities.
