I just received a link to a fascinating podcast from the World Nuclear Association about the risks associated with attempting to protect the public from low doses of radiation. It was posted almost a month ago on October 14, 2014. I apologize for initially missing this important recording and failing to bring it to your…
The American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting is in progress in Anaheim, CA. I was not able to attend the meeting this year, but I was able to arrange to talk to a couple of people who were there. Guests on this episode of the Atomic Show include Gene Grecheck, the Vice President and incoming President…
On November 11, 2014, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. John Boice, the President of the National Council on Radiation Protection. Dr. Boice has had a long and distinguished career in radiation protection and is currently leading a multi-decade effort known as the Million Worker Study to investigate the evidence that has been…
On November 6, 2014, immediately after the midterm election results became available, National Review Online published an article by Kevin D. Williamson titled With Energy, More Is More: An Economic Agenda for the New GOP Majority. Long time readers of Atomic Insights will know that I lean way to the left on the political spectrum…
Last week I pointed out that Scientists for Accurate Radiation Information (SARI) had submitted a letter to a number of scientific advisory groups requesting that they provide clear guidance to governments on the lack of harm associated with exposure to the residual radioactive materials released from the Fukushima Daiichi accident. That initial post also provided…
Stephen Burns, whose nomination to serve as an NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) commissioner was confirmed by the US Senate on September 16, 2014, was sworn in yesterday to become the 35th person to serve as an NRC commissioner. His 5-year term expires on June 30, 2019. The ceremony took place at the NRC’s office building…
Dr. Leslie Dewan is a co-founder and the CEO of Transatomic Power, a venture capital-funded start-up based on research conducted at MIT. Along with Mark Massie, the other co-founder, Dewan is exploring a design that uses a molten salt fuel that enables materials currently classified as “nuclear waste” to provide the heat source for a…
Radiation regulators often acknowledge that their linear, no threshold model overestimates the hazard of radiation below certain dose levels, but, they say, at least it errs in the “conservative” direction. That assumption might give the practitioners comfort and help them believe that they are protecting the general public, but that presumption ignores the real and…
There is a new blog about clean energy with a strong focus on the contributions made by clean nuclear energy. Northwest Clean Energy published its introductory post on September 10, 2014 titled Electricity in the Northwest. The lead blogger is Meredith Angwin, an experienced regional blogger and clean energy expert. The most recent post —…
The Positive Effects of Low Level Radiation – Jerry Cuttler, Nuclear Engineer from Mx2 Media Production on Vimeo. Dr. Jerry Cuttler has spent a substantial portion of the past 20 years delving into the topic of the health effects of low dose radiation. He recently sat down with film makers from Go Nuclear to share…
On September 16, 2014, Stephen Burns and Jeff Baran were confirmed as Commissioners at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the Senate. Thirty days later, on October 14, 2014, Jeff Baran was sworn in and began serving out the remainder of the term of William Magwood, who left the commission to take over as Director-General of…
Atomic Insights is expanding. I’d like to introduce our newest writer, Evan Twarog. Some of you may recognize his name; in the friendly world of pro-nuclear bloggers, Evan has made a name for himself as a bright young man who started learning the importance of public communications about nuclear energy when he was just 14…