Fig. 2.1. Analysis Sequence for Comparative Assessment accommodate different impacts that result from the alternative technologies, but it should also be specific enough so that comparisons between technologies are feasible and commensurate. The classification system for the comparative assessment is shown in Fig. 2.2. The major issue categories are cost and performance, environmental, economic and societal, resource, and institutional. In the cost and performance category, the life-cycle cost and system performance are compared. The R&D cost comparison between technologies was not considered because of the inability to develop an acceptable methodology or accurate data. Life-cycle cost includes development, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. Reliability is an example of an important system performance issue. The costs being compared are projected, and it is important to specify the uncertainty in these projections so that conclusions can be drawn in perspective. Environmental issues are divided into two subcategories: health and safety issues and welfare issues. Health and safety is subdivided into public and occupational issues. In this context, health refers to chronic impacts (e.g., respiratory illness), whereas safety refers to the effects of accidents such as launch malfunctions, spills, and unexpected releases of hazardous pollutants. Welfare impacts are those that result from disruptions of the physical environment, such as damage to buildings from air pollution, degradation of radio-frequency communication due to
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