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Disposal and Contamination

Nuclear Waste Governance in South Africa

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Challenges of Nuclear Waste Governance

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Abstract

Since the Manhattan project, South Africa’s links with the global nuclear industry have been profound, starting out as a provider of uranium. From 1965 it commissioned a research reactor, and since 1984 has been producing nuclear electricity. There was a secretive nuclear weapons programme between 1978 and 1990. Together with considerable waste resulting from the mining of uranium, it is surprising that the first policy document on radioactive waste appeared only in 2005. Government was forced to do this because of civil society litigation, yet the policy was issued with almost no public input. The industry has seldom felt accountable to the public, and the regulator has struggled to meet its obligations, given shortages of expert staff and budgets. There is concern about current government plans to add six to eight more reactors to the existing two, given the need to ensure that the institutions governing and regulating the industry are competent and viable. This chapter aims to uncover the history of nuclear waste in South Africa, providing some detail on the inventories, the legal and institutional background, and current controversies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cape Town, Wits, South Africa

    David Fig

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  1. David Fig
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Correspondence to David Fig .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Policy Research Center, Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Achim Brunnengräber

  2. Environmental Policy Research Center, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Maria Rosaria Di Nucci

  3. Environmental Policy Research Center, Freie Universität Berlin , Berlin, Germany

    Ana María Isidoro Losada

  4. Environmental Policy Research Center, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Lutz Mez

  5. Professor of Environmental and Climate Policy Bavarian School of Public Policy , Technical University of Munich , München, Bayern, Germany

    Miranda A. Schreurs

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Fig, D. (2018). Disposal and Contamination. In: Brunnengräber, A., Di Nucci, M., Isidoro Losada, A., Mez, L., Schreurs, M. (eds) Challenges of Nuclear Waste Governance . Energiepolitik und Klimaschutz. Energy Policy and Climate Protection. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-21441-8_13

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