Author Bio

Three of the authors (Greenberg, Lowrie, and Mayer) have for more than a decade done nuclear waste research and review work as part of their association with the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation. The authors are also associated with the National Center for Neighborhood and Brownfield Redevelopment at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. Greenberg also serves as associate editor for environmental health for the American Journal of Public Health and as editor-in-chief of Risk Analysis, where Lowrie serves as managing editor. West is Co-Chair of the Health Systems and Policy Department at UMDNJ School of Public Health.

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Main Description

An essential reference for journalists, activists, and students, this book presents scientifically accurate and accessible overviews of 24 of the most important issues in the nuclear realm, including: health effects, nuclear safety and engineering, TMI and Chernobyl, nuclear medicine, food irradiation, transport of nuclear materials, spent fuel, nuclear weapons, global warming.

Each "brief" is based on interviews with named scientists, engineers, or administrators in a nuclear specialty, and each has been reviewed by a team of independent experts. The objective is not to make a case for or against nuclear-related technologies, but rather to provide definitive background information. (The approach is based on that of The Reporter's Environmental Handbook, published in 1988, which won a special award for journalism from the Sigma Delta Chi Society of professional journalists.)

Other features of the book include: a glossary of hundreds of terms, an introduction to risk assessment, environmental and economic impacts, and public perceptions, an article by an experienced reporter with recommendations about how to cover nuclear issues, quick guides to the history of nuclear power in the United States, important federal legislation and regulations, nuclear position statements, and key organizations, print and electronic resources.

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Reviews

Researchers, journalists, and many students will appreciate the accessibility and interesting information available in this outstanding resource. Highly recommended.
--Choice

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The book is packed with information directed at reporters, but it is good for any health physicist who communicates with the public on radiation issues.
--Health Physics

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Table of Contents

Contents Preface and Acknowledgments

Part I. Getting Started

How to Use the Handbook

Why Now? Why This Discussion?

Crosscutting Themes

Covering Nukes: Play Hard, but Play Fair

Part II. Briefs

Section 1: Radionuclides and Human Health Effects

Section 2: Nuclear Energy and Other Civilian Uses

Sustainability: Will There Be Enough Uranium and Nuclear Fuel and At What Cost?

Closing the Civilian Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Spent (Used) Nuclear Fuel : The Opportunity and the Challenge

Nuclear Power Plant Safety Systems

Three Mile Island and Chernobyl: What Happened and Lessons Learned

Decommissioning Nuclear Facilities

Transportation of Nuclear Waste

The Economics of Nuclear Power

Civilian Uses of Radiation and Radioactive Material (Other than Commercial Nuclear Power)

Other Sources Relevant to Section 2

Section 3: Nuclear Waste Management

Nuclear Waste Policy in the U.S: Classification, Management and Disposition

Monitoring and Surveillance of Nuclear Waste Sites

Impact of Radionuclides and Nuclear Waste Management on Non-Humans and Ecosystems

Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance at Closed Nuclear Waste Sites

Other Sources Relevant to Section 3

Section 4: Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and Non-Proliferation

Managing the Nuclear Weapons Legacy

Dirty Bombs (Radiological Dispersa Devices)

Nuclear Non-Proliferation

Protecting Nuclear Power Plants Against Terrorism

International Agencies and Policy

Other Sources Relevant to Section 4

Section 5: Risk Perception and Risk Communication

Global Warming and Fuel Sources

Public Perceptions of Risk and Nuclear Power, Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Waste

Risk Communications about Nuclear Materials

Other Sources Relevant to Section 5

Part III. Additional Resources

History of Nuclear Power in the United States and Worldwide

Important Federal Legislation and Regulations

List of American Nuclear Society Positions

Background About Key Organizations Related to US Nuclear Programs

Key Sources

Glossary

Contributors

Index

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Extras

    I have written about two dozen books, yet none quite like this one. The degree of expertise brought to bear on this book is unprecedented in my experience, and the effort by the CRESP* organization to obtain independent peer review in order to build credibility for the effort was also unprecedented. Only the committees of the National Academy of Sciences have a comparable process.

    Nuclear power and nuclear waste management are controversial topics, so journalists need to trust the information they use.  We needed a process that would minimize bias for or against nuclear power generation and specific waste management techniques.  

    Let me be specific about how the book evolved. The authors designed the book and reached out to independent experts for commentary on what should be included and in what format.  The briefs themselves emerged from another set of interviews, typically more than one, regarding each of the briefs. The authors and their colleagues, in other words, had control over what was written and who should be interviewed.  

    Step two—the reviews—was an equally complex process. CRESP Co-PI’s Charles Powers and David Kosson asked Bernard Goldstein and Arthur Upton—themselves respected scientific peer reviewers—to find reviewers for every section of the volume; the four authors had nothing to do with the selection of these reviewers. After a section was written, the authors sent it to Drs. Powers and Kosson who in turn forwarded it to Drs. Goldstein and Upton—and they independently identified reviewers who then made numerous constructive suggestions for clarifying the science, and typically for ways to improve the balance of each section. Initial reviewers focused on one or more of the individual briefs; several reviewers then read larger sections. Finally, four reviewers read the entire volume. At each stage, the review comments were incorporated.  It took many months to complete the review processes. No one can say, certainly not me, that the resulting book has no biases; all of the people interviewed and the authors have their own perspectives on each subject covered in the volume. Yet, by having extensive and detailed reviews, we are confident that this is a uniquely thorough effort designed to achieve a most objective and balanced set of writing on this subject.
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*Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (U.S. Dept. of Energy) www.cresp.org    
    The Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation is a Vanderbilt University-led, multi-university consortium supported as a cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management.   David Kosson and Charles Powers, both professors in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Vanderbilt are the co-principal investigators for CRESP.  Rutgers is one of the CRESP participating universities and Michael Greenberg is a member of the management board for CRESP. CRESP supported the development of the Reporter’s Handbook throughout the initial conceptualization, implementation and external review processes, as well as providing financial support for the authors work on the Handbook.
     The mission of CRESP is to support safe, effective, publicly-credible, risk informed management of existing and future nuclear waste from government and civilian sources through independent strategic analysis, review, applied research and education.

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To read an excerpt of the book, click here.