In the 21 months since three the fuel cores in three nuclear reactors melted at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station, there has been a substantial investment made in learning lessons from the event. Nuclear trained people are members of a learning community, we generally try to make sure that we do not waste any [...]
B&W mPower™ Reactor Control Room Simulator Begins Operations
(CHARLOTTE, N.C. – December 4, 2012) – The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) (NYSE: BWC) is pleased to announce that the production-standard control room prototype for its B&W mPower™ small modular reactor (SMR) is now operational. This engineering simulator is a key milestone in the B&W mPower development program. The B&W mPower control room prototype, [...]
Emotional evaluation of risks should favor nuclear energy
Sabine Roeser, a philosopher, provided a thought-provoking talk at TEDx Delft on the importance of including emotions in debates about risky technologies. Though my initial response to the early part of her talk was defensive, I kept on watching and ended up concluding that I agreed with the vast majority of her message. Though it [...]
Atomic Show #190 – Nuclear plant performance during Hurricane Sandy
There are 34 nuclear reactors located in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. Of those, 7 were shutdown for planned maintenance. Three units tripped due to disturbances on the grid or issues with one of their redundant cooling systems. The other 24 remained operational and supplied as much power as the grid could accept. On Sunday, [...]
Fission Fans Should Unite – Target Of Interest Is Fossil Fuel Market Share
I’ve spent a fair amount of time during the past few days trying to convince people who promote only certain types of nuclear fission technologies that they are engaging in the wrong battle. They are failing to recognize that all forms of fission take advantage of the incredible energy density found in atomic nuclei to [...]
Low-level Radiation and Its Implications for Fukushima Recovery
If a special session occurs and the press ignores it, did it really happen? Ted Rockwell, one of my favorite nuclear pioneers, was unable to attend the American Nuclear Society annual meeting despite having worked diligently to help organize a President’s Special Session titled “Low-Level Radiation and Its Implications for Fukushima Recovery.” He eagerly looked [...]
San Onofre (SONGS) owner updates public on cause of steam generator tube wear
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Augmented Inspection Team (AIT) held a public information meeting on June 18, 2012 to present findings from their investigation into the cause of the excessive steam generator tube degradation found in units 2 and 3 of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). Southern California Edison (SCE), SONGS owner and [...]
Virginia Uranium – Waiting Patiently to Create 325 Family Wage Jobs In Southside
My wife has known for many years that I have rather eclectic tastes in tourist destinations, but even with that history, she gave me a rather odd look when I suggested that we spend my day off by driving to Chatham to visit Virginia Uranium. When I pointed out how close Chatham is to our [...]
Debunking the Fukushima Spent Fuel Fable
There is a scary myth floating around the internet. According to the tall tale, the spent fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi unit four poses a dire threat to all mankind. As I explain in the above video, nothing could be farther from the truth. The sources of the lies have a well established history of [...]
Why did Greg Jaczko hold a press conference on Friday, April 20?
Following a flurry of news reports about the renomination of Ms. Kristine Svinicki, one of his colleagues at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko decided to hold a previously unscheduled press conference at the National Press Club. Inquiring minds, like mine, are wondering why he made that decision. First of all, I [...]
Nuclear Literacy Project goes live
The Nuclear Literacy Project has officially opened its virtual doors for visitors. This collaborative effort has been several months in the making with a number of talented hands ensuring that the the unveiling would be a real success. The site is designed to appeal to curious people who do not have preconceived notions, but really [...]
Proud – but often frustrated – nuclear professional
Kevan Crawford has published well-written op-ed titled Nuclear power answer to clean energy. He described some nuclear energy’s impressive benefits and compared them to the available alternative power sources, which were exposed as being vastly inferior based on an objective evaluation of their characteristics and limitations. Here is the disclaimer associated with Kevan’s opinion piece. [...]