Law Commons^™

Nuclear Power, Risk, And Retroactivity, Emily Hammond

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster presented a familiar scenario from a risk perception standpoint. It combined a classic" dread risk" (radioactivity), a punctuating event (the disaster itself), and resultant stigmatization (involving world wide repercussions for nuclear power). Some nuclear nations curtailed nuclear power generation, and decades-old opposition to nuclear power found a renaissance. In these circumstances, risk theory predicts a regulatory knee-jerk response, potentially resulting in inefficient overregulation. But it also suggests procedural palliatives that conveniently overlap with administrative law values, making room for the engagement of the full spectrum of stakeholders. This Article sketches the U.S. regulatory response to …

Fukushima's Shadow, Lincoln L. Davies, Alexis Jones

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The March 11, 2011 tragedy at the Fukushima Daiichi power station in Japan immediately etched its place in history as arguably the most noteworthy of the three nuclear energy disasters to date. This Article surveys the response to Fukushima both in Japan and worldwide. It observes that rather than stopping what many thought was a burgeoning "nuclear renaissance," the global policy reaction post-Fukushima was more varied. Using the examples of Germany, the United States, and China, the Article examines the three general approaches to nuclear energy that nations have followed since Fukushima: abandonment, status quo, and expansion. The Article then …

Nuclear Power And Non-Proliferation: The View From Brazil, James P. Rowles

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This article contains a hypothetical memorandum written by a hypothetical Brazilian policymaker, together with a hypothetical draft Brazilian proposal for the establishment of an International Plutonium Storage regime. None of these materials should be interpreted as a statement of policy by any Brazilian official or by the Republic of Brazil...

This article consists primarily of a hypothetical review memorandum written for Brazilian President Joao Baptista Figueiredo by a hypothetical Brazilian policymaker offering advice on two issues of immediate concern to Brazil. The first involves proposals for the establishment, under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) auspices, of an International Plutonium Storage …