Political and Economic Analysis of Low-Level Radioactive Waste

Authors

F. Gregory Hayden, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Steven R. Bolduc, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

June 1997

Comments

Published by Journal of Economic Issues Vol. XXXI, No. 2, June 1997. Copyright © 1997 Journal of Economic Issues. Used by Permission.

Abstract

This year's Veblen-Commons Award recipient, Seymour Melman, has warned that the laws and decisions allowing and encouraging the spread of cost-plus contracts have diminished productive capacity, increased production costs, created unearned profits, and weakened democratic institutions [Melman 1983, 1993]. The concern of this paper is the political organization of the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact (CIC) and the cost-plus contract system that it proposes to use in establishing a low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) facility. The current plan is to transport radioactive waste from the LLRW generators in Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska to a disposal facility at the north edge of Nebraska.