Open AccessNuclear Waste in the Anthropocene: Uncertainties and Unforeseeable Timescales in the Disposal of Nuclear Waste
Author(s) -
Achim Brunnengräber,
Christoph Görg
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
gaia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.563
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 2625-5413
pISSN - 0940-5550
DOI - 10.14512/gaia.26.2.8
Subject(s) - anthropocene , radioactive waste , perspective (graphical) , environmental ethics , commission , political science , engineering , law , waste management , computer science , philosophy , artificial intelligence
From a scientific perspective, in particular following the Working Group on the Anthropocene of the International Commission on Stratigraphy ( WGA -ISC), the major challenge for determining the Anthropocene and its start is the search for a “golden spike”. The WGA -ISC agreed on nuclear fallout from disasters. For a full understanding of the Anthropocene, it however seems necessary to go further than that. We obtain a much broader understanding of the challenges that the new era represents for humanity if we take into account the so-called civilian use of nuclear energy and in particular the challenges posed by nuclear waste ‐ long timescales and scientific uncertainties.