SITING LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES.

This article describes a siting process for low-level radioactive waste (LLW) facilities. It addresses siting as a sociopolitical as well as a technical problem. Roles for a range of actors interested in siting are identified and stages in choosing sites are described. Degrees of involvement for each set of actors at each stage in siting are suggested. The process is conceptualized as one of state directed balancing under a large number of technical and social constraints. A central role for elected officials is developed and the need for identification of a managing 'lead agency' is recognized; but the process relies on participation by all affected actors.