Visualising Nuclear Landscapes: Visual Simulation in the Licensing for Finnish Nuclear Facilities - Implementing Environmental and Resource Management - page 249

20 Visualising Nuclear Landscapes: Visual
Simulation in the Licensing for Finnish
Nuclear Facilities
Hannah Strauss
Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Finland
20.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses the use of visual techniques for project simulation in plan-
ning procedures as part of the reflection on environmental management practices
in Part III of this topic. The problem that such simulation techniques attempt to
solve is the perception of environmental changes, such as the construction and op-
eration of nuclear power plants, before they are realised. The purpose of this chap-
ter is to introduce phenomenological theories to the discussion of visualisation
techniques in order to achieve a more critical understanding of management prac-
tices. It will be argued that sophisticated technologies, as employed in the licens-
ing of nuclear power plants in Finland (section 20.2), enable realistic views on the
changes in landscape while the implications of their increasingly prominent role in
planning are discussed very little. Managerial approaches (section 20.3) enthusias-
tically highlight the possibilities for producing suggestions in a format that “eve-
rybody can understand” (section 20.4). However, it is argued in this article that
personal perception of landscapes cannot be modelled by simulations, which are
therefore of limited use when it comes to assessment of possible changes and in-
formed decision-making. Phenomenological approaches (section 20.5) highlight
the short-sightedness of environmental management practices. In the licensing
procedure of nuclear facilities in Finland, visual simulations are employed rather
often, while the frequent use of manipulated images is as such not subject to scru-
tiny. In this respect, a free hand is granted to the project developer, who naturally
aims at a smooth assessment process and positive outcomes. Moreover, and de-
spite showing the projected changes in the landscape, Finnish companies deliver a
certain kind of image of nature conservation and social responsibility. The chapter
concludes with comments and recommendations that could help improve the use
of visualisation techniques in the Finnish licensing procedure (section 20.6).