ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates risk assessments of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, proposed as the site of the world’s first permanent, geological repository for high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel. It argues that at least two of the value judgments central to the 1992 Department of Energy (DOE) conclusion are highly questionable. In appealing to the value judgment appeal to ignorance (AI), the DOE risk assessors have attempted to guarantee the impossible. One area of risk assessment that is most susceptible to value judgments like AI is evaluation of human error and interference. The DOE scientists admit that “in most cases, hydraulic data are insufficient for performing geostatistical analyses. By assuming AI, that the failure to prove site unsuitability is sufficient to support a finding of site suitability, the Early Site Suitability Evaluation Team not only appealed to ignorance but also placed the burden of proof on those arguing for site unsuitability.
