Getting Local Acceptance: Siting a Spent Fuel Storage Facility in Hungary. A. Vari, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Social Conflict Research, 1068 Budapest, Benezur u.33, Hungary
Until recently, spent fuel generated by the Paks nuclear power plant (the only nuclear power plant of Hungary) has been exported via the Ukraine to Russia. In the last few years, however, due to the protest of host communities in Russia and transit communities in the Ukraine, exporting the waste has become increasingly problematic. Anticipating further difficulties with export, the power plant decided to establish an on-site monitored retrievable Spent Fuel Storage Facility. In 1992 a siting and licensing process was initiated, and in 1995 the license of the facility was issued.
The paper describes (i) the legal, political, and institutional environment of radioactive waste management in Hungary, (ii) the roles and interests of various stakeholders in the siting process, (iii) the emerging conflicts and debate issues, and (iv) the tools applied for conflict management, including financial incentives and control offered to the affected local communities. The siting case is compared with the failed attempt of the Paks nuclear power plant to establish a Low-and Immediate-Level Radioactive Waste repository in the late 1980s. Factors of success and failure including the political transition, the changes of the socioeconomic environment, the learning process of the power plant managers, and the differences between the two facilities are analyzed. Finally, the practice of environmental conflict management in Hungary, the tools and methods applied to resolve siting controversies, and the adaptability of Western approaches are discussed.