Low-Level Waste Seminar

By Susan Kaplan

This meeting provided the stakeholders an opportunity to brainstorm together to identify ways to deal with the Department of Energy's low-level waste on a complex-wide basis. This meeting alerted me to the fact that the proposed Oak Ridge disposal cell is actually the most expensive option for dealing with Oak Ridge's low-level waste. This information was recently confirmed in a newspaper article discussing the results of an analysis performed by the Office of Management and Budget, which pointed out that cheaper disposal options were available (i.e., Nevada Test Site and commercial disposal).

This meeting also provided me the opportunity to deal firsthand with a stakeholder who apparently was not interested in reaching consensus and solving the problem. I had a very frustrating interaction with a lawyer for one of the activist groups. This person was part of my team for a short brainstorming session on the issue. We were asked to return the following morning to whittle down the list and to prioritize the items. While the lawyer attended the initial brainstorming session, he did not attend the morning work session. He did, however, show up for the plenary session where all of the groups presented their findings. As our team leader presented our conclusions, the lawyer proceeded to disrupt and dominate the session because his ideas did not make the short list. I went up to him afterward and expressed my frustration about his behavior in light of his not being present that morning to present the case for including his ideas in the final report. His behavior throughout the entire episode made it very clear that his goal was not to work with the other stakeholders to solve the problem, but only to further his own agenda.

I also took the opportunity to remind Martha Crossland that I had not received the promised list of attendees from the Chicago meeting. She was very apologetic and promised that the information would soon be sent to us. True to her word, I recently received the list as well as "thank you" letters for my participation in both stakeholder meetings.

Other reports

Al Brooks
Ken Greer
Fay Martin

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