A world's dilemma 'upon which the sun never sets' - The nuclear waste management strategy (part I): Western European Nation States and the United States of America

The management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and nuclear wastes demands a strategy to provide for the safe, secure, and permanent disposal of radioactive material from power generation, defense uses, and other activities. Nation states have taken different paths to nuclear waste management and are at various stages of the development of a nuclear waste management strategy. A strategy may include developing a geological repository, nuclear fuel reprocessing, interim storage, as well as discussions of the creation of a multinational storage facility. The nation states have each developed (or are developing) a set of laws and regulations for the management of SNF and nuclear wastes within a constitutional framework and regulatory space. The paper provides an overview of the strategy used (or being developed) and its place within the legal framework. The paper concludes that though each nation state must look outward to its shared international obligations, there must also be an inward reflection of a nation state to its own traditions, customs, and legal/law making regimes. This is to assure a successful and stable outcome at the present period of time, and into the future. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.