Scandinavian participants representing many fields gathered at a conference entitled "Transmittal of Information Over Extremely Long Periods of Time" held in Oslo, Norway, in September 1991. Their task was to consider how to pass on messages about radioactive waste deposits so they will be intelligible in the far future. As a basis for their discussions they assumed deep geological waste burial that would remain "safe forever." They all agreed that ethical and moral concerns "not only to protect future generations of mankind, but all life on the earth" underlay their deliberations that included juridical, social, historical, archeological, linguistic and technological points of view.
The wide ranging proceedings addressed the possibility that, due to historical discontinuities, such as natural disasters, wars or epidemics, archives might eventually prove ineffective even if maintained and updated over time under international arrangements. Per Ole Nielson, author of the conference report, writes, "the very initiative to identify and retrieve the relevant message, which has to be taken by our distant successors, was seen as the most serious obstacle to information transmittal. Why on earth should they start searching for unknown information just because they wanted to dig a deep hole?" Similarly, they might not consider waste site warning markers dated thousands of years earlier to be still valid and intended for them. Examples of ancient messages, ignored by archeologists and others who found them in this century, were cited to support this concern.
A Continuous Human Process
In addressing these and other difficult questions, various suggestions were offered such as: "one has to create a tradition for the transmittal of information...It must be seen to that the baton always will be passed on and received..." It was emphasized that information must be available to the public starting with transmitting it to this generation because "personalizing must be the key word. Human beings are the most important factor." For the very reason that "the religious message is passed on in a continuous, inter-human process," Knut S. Selmer emphasized the potential role of world religions in effectively conveying information that archives and markers might fail to do.
Thinking it likely that world religions will outlast today's legal structures and stressing how religions have always provided strong motivation to internalize norms of behavior, he stated:
"It is my suggestion that the only possible way to influence human activity in a very distant future goes through religion. One must approach the leading circles of the great world religions, and persuade them that we are under an obligation to warn our distant descendants of the deadly dangers which we are creating in the environment. The danger symbols must be included in the set of holy symbols of each religion. The obligation to seek information and act upon it must be embodied in the central axioms. If the message could be given a form which was common to the world religions and which formed part of their rites and practices, one might hope that the message would survive and motivate people in a distant future."
Generally there were thought-provoking presentations while the conference did not offer definitive recommendations. Other ideas presented included:
Law and Legal Aspects: "Environmental protection is seen as protection of rights.
Transmittal of information about waste deposits can thus be one way of avoiding that the rights of future generations become endangered by our behavior ... if the duty to transmit information is formulated as an effort to protect the right of others (our successors) it may have a psychological effect; the reason for informing becomes evident and moral."
Archives: "One international institution or agency should be assigned the central and general responsibility to collect and maintain information about all such deposits."
The Message: "The focus must be on the danger of the waste, and not of the use."
Although the discussions were based on the hypothesis of deep geological waste burial that would pose no danger of contamination of the biosphere if left undisturbed, apparently conference participants were aware that this ideal could not be assumed. One of their stated purposes for transmitting information to the future about the existence and contents of the repositories was "should the consequences (e.g., releases) be significantly more severe than what we have envisioned."
The conference was arranged by Scandpower under contract from the Swedish Radiation Protection Institute (SSI) as a part of a Nordic Nuclear Safety Research project (KAN 1.3). Held at Oslo Military Society, September 26 and 27, 1991. For further information, contact: Per Ole Nielsen, Scandpower AS, P.O. Box 3, N-2007 Kjeller, Norway.
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