How microbes network (and are networked) in geological disposal research: a sociological perspective

摘要: In MIND subtask 3.2, we ascertain whether and how microbes, microbiologists, and microbiology are enrolled into research on the geological disposal of radioactive waste. We adopt a social studies of science (actor-network theory) perspective that observes how actors within MIND (e.g. MIND researchers, members of the MIND Implementer Review Board) and outside the project (e.g. geologists, waste management regulators, policy makers) process data and generate insights on the role of microbes in waste disposal, and how these processes elicit challenges and opportunities for enrolment. Examples of the latter include mixed appreciations of the impact of microbial activity on artificial barriers (e.g. negligible vs. substantial), the scope for, and appeal of, institutional uptake of microbiology research (e.g. through the coupling of microbiology research to “the safety case”), and the (re)drawing of disciplinary boundaries (e.g. between microbiology and geology). Drawing on these and related examples, we explore how through projects like MIND, microbes network, and are networked, differently for the joint purpose of radioactive waste disposal.