Nuclear Cultural Heritage: From Energy Past to Heritage Future

Abstract

This article surveys literature and practices relating to nuclear cultural heritage to provide a state-of-the-art review of the field. It focuses on nuclear cultural heritage as it relates to the decommissioning of civil nuclear sites, primarily in Lithuania, Sweden and the United Kingdom, showing that it is a fast-growing and interdisciplinary field. It places nuclear cultural heritage within the wider heritage context before outlining the challenges that it faces, marking it as distinct within the heritage arena. To do this it explores how “materialities,” “communities” and “locations” shape and are shaped by nuclear cultural heritage. It concludes that collaboration between industry representatives, nuclear communities, heritage practitioners and researchers is essential if society is to develop the field whilst decommissioning and change is underway, rather than after the industry has gone.