Identifying potential repositories for radioactive waste: multiple criteria decision analysis and critical infrastructure systems

An approach for the analysis and management of multiple criteria critical infrastructure problems is put forth. Nuclear waste management involves complex tradeoffs under uncertainty. Among all waste either generated by nature or human activities, radioactive nuclear waste is the most toxic to human health and difficult to manage: it is known that some nuclear waste material will be radioactive and potentially dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years. This paper discusses the use of multiple criteria decision analysis techniques such as the analytic hierarchy process for recommending sites to be considered as potential repositories for nuclear waste.