Department of Political Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
Risk Anal. 2011 Apr;31(4):629-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01543.x. Epub 2010 Dec 22.
Nuclear facilities have long been seen as the top of the list of locally unwanted land uses (LULUs), with nuclear waste repositories generating the greatest opposition. Focusing on the case of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southern New Mexico, we test competing hypotheses concerning the sources of opposition and support for siting the facility, including demographics, proximity, political ideology, and partisanship, and the unfolding policy process over time. This study tracks the changes of risk perception and acceptance of WIPP over a decade, using measures taken from 35 statewide surveys of New Mexico citizens spanning an 11-year period from fall 1990 to summer 2001. This time span includes periods before and after WIPP became operational. We find that acceptance of WIPP is greater among those whose residences are closest to the WIPP facility. Surprisingly, and contrary to expectations drawn from the broader literature, acceptance is also greater among those who live closest to the nuclear waste transportation route. We also find that ideology, partisanship, government approval, and broader environmental concerns influence support for WIPP acceptance. Finally, the sequence of procedural steps taken toward formal approval of WIPP by government agencies proved to be important to gaining public acceptance, the most significant being the opening of the WIPP facility itself.
核设施长期以来一直被视为当地不受欢迎的土地利用（LULU）之首，核废料储存库引起了最大的反对。本文以新墨西哥州南部的废物隔离试验工厂（WIPP）为例，测试了有关反对和支持选址的竞争性假设，包括人口统计学、接近度、政治意识形态和党派，以及随着时间的推移展开的政策进程。本研究通过从 1990 年秋季到 2001 年夏季的 11 年期间对新墨西哥州公民进行的 35 项全州调查中采取的措施，跟踪了 WIPP 风险感知和接受度的变化超过十年。这一时间跨度包括 WIPP 开始运营之前和之后的时期。我们发现，居住在离 WIPP 设施最近的人对 WIPP 的接受程度更高。令人惊讶的是，与更广泛的文献中的预期相反，居住在离核废料运输路线最近的人对 WIPP 的接受程度也更高。我们还发现，意识形态、党派、政府批准和更广泛的环境问题会影响对 WIPP 接受的支持。最后，政府机构朝着正式批准 WIPP 采取的程序步骤序列对于获得公众接受至关重要，最重要的是 WIPP 设施本身的开放。
