"The management of radioactive wastes, which contain materials that remain hazardous for up to millions of years, is one of the most vexing, contentious and costly environmental issues of our time. Almost since the inception of the nuclear age, radioactive waste management has been plagued with failures, poor science, cost overruns and unanticipated environmental events. The authors discuss the reason for those failures, clearly explaining the inconsistencies of waste classification regulations, and exposing some of the scare tactics used to push risky new disposal sites on the public. The authors then move beyond their criticism of existing flaws to propose an alternative unified approach to address the problem in a fiscally prudent and environmentally sound way."--P. [4] of cover.