Trust, justice, and expertise in nuclear waste management: a Q-method analysis of environmental discourses in the United Kingdom

Nuclear waste is ethically contentious, concerning institutional trust, community engagement and the role nuclear plays in different sociotechnical configurations of energy futures. Using Q-methodology with a diverse UK-based stakeholder group, we find three emergent discourses: a) “Managing a distrustful public,” b) “Fair and democratic nuclear waste decision-making,” and c) “Putting the experts in control.” Though multi-stakeholder support is expressed for geological disposal of wastes, disagreements arise towards the ethics of nuclear-powered energy futures and to community decision-making roles. We recommend that policy authorities must first strengthen community withdrawal rights, and second, renew deliberative democratic decision-making mechanisms within energy policy strategy.