The Atom & the Fault – Experts Earthquakes & Nuclear Power: Experts, Earthquakes and Nuclear Power - Hardcover
Synopsis
With wit and thoughtful compassion, Richard Meehan presents one of the most perplexing of contemporary moral predicaments, one that arises in every attempt to assess potentially hazardous technologies. He focuses on the longrunning controversy over suspected earthquake faults near the nation's first corporately owned nuclear test reactor at Vallecitos, California, and uses this account of "the politics of expertise" to probe the nature of scientific truth and its relationship to the determination of public safety.
At Vallecitos, Meehan points out, the opinions of the "experts" were radically divided. Where one group saw clear and ominous evidence of an earthquake fault in trenches dug at this showpiece site, others saw only the mark of an ancient landslide. How did these experts arrive at their opinions? Were they simply representing corporate, as opposed to environmentalist, points of view? And how are the public regulatory agencies charged with deciding such issues supposed to balance these seemingly irreconcilable opinions?
The Atom and the Fault explores these crucial questions as the issue of the earthquake safety of nuclear power plants continues to grow into a struggle encompassing government regulatory bodies, public utilities, private industry, engineers, geologists, and citizen activists. It paints candid portraits of the principal expert players, clarifies the difficult and often delicate interplay of honesty and loyalties among them, and lucidly explains the technical issues and viewpoints involved.
As a professional participant in several environmental controversies in which so-called scientific facts were represented by opposing points of view, Meehan is uniquely qualified to tell this tale. He is a consultant to industry, government agencies, and law firms specializing in forecasting and damage assessment related to earthquakes and land failures, and an adjunct professor in the Values, Technology, Science, and Society program at Stanford University. His first book, Getting Sued and Other Tales of the Engineering Life was published by The MIT Press in 1981.
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About the Author
Richard Meehan is an adjunct professor in the Values, Technology, Science, and Society program at Stanford University.
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The Atom and the Fault : Experts, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
Published by
MIT Press, 1984
ISBN 10: 0262131994
ISBN 13: 9780262131995
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Hardcover
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Condition: Good. 1st. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # GRP65619288
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The Atom and the Fault: Experts, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0262131994I3N01
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The Atom and the Fault: Experts, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
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Condition: Fair. Acceptable condition. Good dust jacket. Former Library book. (nuclear power plants, earthquakes, California) A readable, intact copy that may have noticeable tears and wear to the spine. All pages of text are present, but they may include extensive notes and highlighting or be heavily stained. Includes reading copy only books. Seller Inventory # Q07B-00594
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The Atom and the Fault: Experts, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
Published by
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1984
ISBN 10: 0262131994
ISBN 13: 9780262131995
Used
Hardcover
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Seller: Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Condition: fair to good, ex-lib. First? Edition. First? Printing. 24 cm, 161, wraps, illus., map, bibliography, few library markings, some wear to cover edges, small stains inside front coversmall rough spot on half-title page, crease in top corner of rear cover. Seller Inventory # 55319
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The Atom and the Fault: Experts, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
Published by
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1984
ISBN 10: 0262131994
ISBN 13: 9780262131995
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Ground Zero Books, Ltd., Silver Spring, MD, U.S.A.
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Condition: good, fair. First? Edition. First? Printing. 24 cm, 161, illus., map, bibliography, small blue marker stain on flyleaf, DJ spine discolored, DJ worn. Small tears, chips, and small pieces missing to DJ edges. Seller Inventory # 18122
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The Atom & the Fault - Experts Earthquakes & Nuclear Power: Experts, Earthquakes and Nuclear Power
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Very good black cloth boards in a very good dust jacket, not price-clipped, in a protective cover. Price stamped on the ffep, otherwise unmarked. Seller Inventory # 002546
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The Atom and the Fault: Expert, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
Seller: Sutton Books, Norwich, VT, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Hbk 161pp dj is lightly shelfworn and price-clipped with a sun-faded spine-strip now in protective sleeve internally the text is very good unmarked clean and tight. Seller Inventory # HPT192
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THE ATOM AND THE FAULT : Experts, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
Published by
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1984
ISBN 10: 0262131994
ISBN 13: 9780262131995
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: 100POCKETS, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition, First Thus. Text/BRAND NEW. Black linen board w/silver spine lettering/Fine. DJ/NF w/light wear. PO name & calling card to fEP. A participant's account of assesing Vallecitos (35 miles south of San Francisco; area of Freeport, Livermore & San Jose) as a nuclear reactor site. An evironmental controversy marked by radical division of opinions among scientists --- is the hill an ancient landslide or part of a earthquake fault line? --- as well as public regulatory agencies, corporations, environmentalists, and politicians. Text in 8 chapters: 1, When You See a Big Snake, Stand Back; 2, Vallecitos: The Hill; 3, The Nuclear Fault: Origin & Genesis; 4, The Engineering & Legal Reaction; 5, A Gallery of Expertise; 6, Vallecitos: Anatomy of Delay; 7, Vallecitos: Resolution; and, 8, Conclusion. A case study of the complexities of balancing technical, economic, and socio-political issues and viewpoints. Seller Inventory # 005478
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THE ATOM AND THE FAULT Experts, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
Published by
The MIT Press, Cambridge, 1984
ISBN 10: 0262131994
ISBN 13: 9780262131995
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Evolving Lens Bookseller, Kingston, NY, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. First Edition; First Printing. Book condition is Very Good; with a Very Good dust jacket. Rubbing and edgewear to jacket, including a short tear to jacket crown at front panel. Text is clean and unmarked. ; 9.38 X 5.96 X 0.68 inches; 208 pages. Seller Inventory # 5964
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The Atom and the Fault: Experts, Earthquakes, and Nuclear Power
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Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks47865