Paul Dorfman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Paul Dorfman
Dialogue with the public is no longer an optional add-on to science policy-making. In line with t... more Dialogue with the public is no longer an optional add-on to science policy-making. In line with this more inclusive approach, local authorities in Great Britain have, for the first time, been advised to consult with relevant stakeholders as part of the Air Quality Management process (Schedule 11, Environment Act, 1995). This represents one of, if not the, largest locally based science communication exercises ever undertaken in GB. Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) assesses at a local level whether health-based air quality objectives are likely to be exceeded. Where objectives are not going to be met, and members of the public are exposed to elevated concentrations of pollutants, local authorities are required to declare Air Quality Management Areas and put in place Air Quality Action Plans to improve local air quality. Consultation on air quality issues ranges from information dissemination (websites, leaflets to local residents etc) to fully inclusive two-way consultation exercis...
The nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan occurred almost exactly 25 years after the Chernobyl n... more The nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan occurred almost exactly 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. Analysis of each provides valuable late and early lessons that could prove helpful to decision-makers and the public as plans are made to meet the energy demands of the coming decades while responding to the growing environmental costs of climate change and the need to ensure energy security in a politically unstable world. This chapter explores some key aspects of the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, the radiation releases, their effects and their implications for any construction of new nuclear plants in Europe. There are also lessons to be learned about nuclear construction costs, liabilities, future investments and risk assessment of foreseeable and unexpected events that affect people and the environment. Since health consequences may start to arise from the Fukushima accident and be documented over the next 5–40 years, a key lesson to be learned concerns ...
The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions, 2019
With mounting recognition over the speed and pace of the low carbon energy transition needed to m... more With mounting recognition over the speed and pace of the low carbon energy transition needed to mitigate climate change, nuclear has been reframed as a response to the threat of global heating. However, at the heart of this assumption are differing views on how to apply foresight, precaution and responsibility in the context of the relative economics of nuclear, the uncertain role of nuclear in combating climate change, the possibility of catastrophic accidents, the consequences of those accidents, and whether there exists a place for nuclear within the swiftly expanding renewable economy. This is because, in the journey to manage the decline of fossil fuels, not all low carbon technologies may prove equally viable. Indeed, nuclear seems far less benign, far more expensive, and more carbon intensive than other options. Hence, nuclear will struggle to compete with the technological, economic and security advances and advantages of the coming renewable evolution. So, in bidding a long...
At present, nuclear energy is used in 31 countries, producing roughly 13 % of the world’s commerc... more At present, nuclear energy is used in 31 countries, producing roughly 13 % of the world’s commercial electricity, and currently 15 countries are in the process of planning the building of new nuclear capacity. There are 435 nuclear power reactors in operation around the world--at the peak of nuclear generation in 2002 there were 444--of which 189 are in pan-Europe and the Russian Federation, comprising about one third of the world’s 146 civil reactors, with France alone generating close to half of the EU’s nuclear production from 58 plants (Schnieder et al, 2011; European Nuclear Society, 2012).
Critical Policy Studies, 2015
Local Environment, 2006
There exists a clear imperative across the EU and within the UK towards the enhanced integration ... more There exists a clear imperative across the EU and within the UK towards the enhanced integration of community knowledge in environmental and health decision-making processes. The underlying social force that underpins this dynamic is the drive for a more accountable, transparent and publicly acceptable decision-making arena. However, relatively little research has been undertaken on the evaluation of local air quality
Local Environment, 2010
... DOI: 10.1080/13549830903406040 Paul Dorfman a , Dave C. Gibbs b , Nurul Leksmono c ... These ... more ... DOI: 10.1080/13549830903406040 Paul Dorfman a , Dave C. Gibbs b , Nurul Leksmono c ... These include the R&A, further assessment in an air quality management area (AQMA) preparation or revision of an action plan and the declaration, amendment or revocation of any ...
Dialogue with the public is no longer an optional add-on to science policy-making. In line with t... more Dialogue with the public is no longer an optional add-on to science policy-making. In line with this more inclusive approach, local authorities in Great Britain have, for the first time, been advised to consult with relevant stakeholders as part of the Air Quality Management process (Schedule 11, Environment Act, 1995). This represents one of, if not the, largest locally based science communication exercises ever undertaken in GB. Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) assesses at a local level whether health-based air quality objectives are likely to be exceeded. Where objectives are not going to be met, and members of the public are exposed to elevated concentrations of pollutants, local authorities are required to declare Air Quality Management Areas and put in place Air Quality Action Plans to improve local air quality. Consultation on air quality issues ranges from information dissemination (websites, leaflets to local residents etc) to fully inclusive two-way consultation exercis...
The nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan occurred almost exactly 25 years after the Chernobyl n... more The nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan occurred almost exactly 25 years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. Analysis of each provides valuable late and early lessons that could prove helpful to decision-makers and the public as plans are made to meet the energy demands of the coming decades while responding to the growing environmental costs of climate change and the need to ensure energy security in a politically unstable world. This chapter explores some key aspects of the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, the radiation releases, their effects and their implications for any construction of new nuclear plants in Europe. There are also lessons to be learned about nuclear construction costs, liabilities, future investments and risk assessment of foreseeable and unexpected events that affect people and the environment. Since health consequences may start to arise from the Fukushima accident and be documented over the next 5–40 years, a key lesson to be learned concerns ...
The Palgrave Handbook of Managing Fossil Fuels and Energy Transitions, 2019
With mounting recognition over the speed and pace of the low carbon energy transition needed to m... more With mounting recognition over the speed and pace of the low carbon energy transition needed to mitigate climate change, nuclear has been reframed as a response to the threat of global heating. However, at the heart of this assumption are differing views on how to apply foresight, precaution and responsibility in the context of the relative economics of nuclear, the uncertain role of nuclear in combating climate change, the possibility of catastrophic accidents, the consequences of those accidents, and whether there exists a place for nuclear within the swiftly expanding renewable economy. This is because, in the journey to manage the decline of fossil fuels, not all low carbon technologies may prove equally viable. Indeed, nuclear seems far less benign, far more expensive, and more carbon intensive than other options. Hence, nuclear will struggle to compete with the technological, economic and security advances and advantages of the coming renewable evolution. So, in bidding a long...
At present, nuclear energy is used in 31 countries, producing roughly 13 % of the world’s commerc... more At present, nuclear energy is used in 31 countries, producing roughly 13 % of the world’s commercial electricity, and currently 15 countries are in the process of planning the building of new nuclear capacity. There are 435 nuclear power reactors in operation around the world--at the peak of nuclear generation in 2002 there were 444--of which 189 are in pan-Europe and the Russian Federation, comprising about one third of the world’s 146 civil reactors, with France alone generating close to half of the EU’s nuclear production from 58 plants (Schnieder et al, 2011; European Nuclear Society, 2012).
Critical Policy Studies, 2015
Local Environment, 2006
There exists a clear imperative across the EU and within the UK towards the enhanced integration ... more There exists a clear imperative across the EU and within the UK towards the enhanced integration of community knowledge in environmental and health decision-making processes. The underlying social force that underpins this dynamic is the drive for a more accountable, transparent and publicly acceptable decision-making arena. However, relatively little research has been undertaken on the evaluation of local air quality
Local Environment, 2010
... DOI: 10.1080/13549830903406040 Paul Dorfman a , Dave C. Gibbs b , Nurul Leksmono c ... These ... more ... DOI: 10.1080/13549830903406040 Paul Dorfman a , Dave C. Gibbs b , Nurul Leksmono c ... These include the R&A, further assessment in an air quality management area (AQMA) preparation or revision of an action plan and the declaration, amendment or revocation of any ...