High-Level Nuclear Waste Management: Analysis of Options

A new approach is introduced for evaluating strategies for the safe disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Five strategies are considered, and by means of the effective method of ‘analytic hierarchy process’ these strategies are prioritized with respect to a set of tangible and intangible criteria. The results are compared with criteria adopted by the United States Department of Energy. The approach demonstrates that, when good judgments are used, one can solve complex decision problems in a simple way and make a rational decision in a short time.