Nuclear waste as cultural heritage of the future : 14361

• Archaeology is accustomed to dealing with long term perspectives and to manage human legacies, the cultural heritage. Cultural heritage management and nuclear waste management share concerns with the permanent preservation of material items, long-term memory keeping, and knowledge transfer to future generations. Nuclear waste can be considered as a very particular kind of future cultural heritage. In this paper, we explore the affinities and differences between cultural heritage and nuclear waste through a discussion of the existing divergences of future consciousness in both realms. We argue that making nuclear waste management a question of heritage may contribute to making the inadvertent exposure of future human beings to radioactivity less likely. At the same time, it might contribute to appreciating nuclear waste not only as a threat but also a resource for future generations, thus allowing for perceptions, valuations and uses of this heritage in futures that will radically differ from today.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Archaeology

Arkeologi

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)