Sometimes I get lazy and simply copy and paste a press release. This is one of those times. For Immediate Release: Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Contact: Caleb Ward caleb.ward@usnic.org 202-332-8845 Top U.S. Advanced Reactor Developers to Summit At Chicago Technology Showcase NRC Chairman Burns, DOE Deputy Assistant Johnson, GAIN’s Baranwal, Industry Leader and Former NRC…
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has published its vision and strategy for preparing to review applications for permission to begin building reactors that do not use light water as the coolant. Policy makers who are interested in ensuring that American reactor developers have the opportunity to lead in the nascent – but potentially very lucrative field – of…
The Senate Energy and Environment committee, chaired by Senator Lisa Murkowski, held a confirmation hearing yesterday for former Texas Governor Rick Perry, the Trump Administration nominee for Secretary of Energy. Sam Britton, the nuclear waste specialist from the Bipartisan Policy Center, produced a valuable resource by watching the full hearing and producing a series of…
In a recent New York Times column titled On Climate Change, Even States in Forefront Are Falling Short, Eduarto Porter begins by lauding California’s claimed position as a leader in environmental consciousness. He points to recent political statements by the state’s elected officials indicating they plan to stubbornly resist any Trump Administration efforts to interfere…
By: Diarmuid Foley A small modular nuclear reactor to replace coal plants could be on the market within 5 years. In 2014, the Generation IV international forum[1] confirmed the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) as one of 6 promising reactor technologies that should be pursued in order to develop advanced reactors suitable for deployment in…
Initial version posted Jan 27, 2006 A recent conversation about the dangers of false claims of expertise stimulated me to revise and republish a nearly 11 year-old post. It provides documented proof that Jimmy Carter was not a “nuclear engineer” and never served on a nuclear submarine. He left the Navy in October 1953, about…
Radiology and nuclear medicine subject matter experts have published an article in the January 2017 issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine that provides numerous reasons why people should never worry about properly controlled radiation doses used in medical imaging. The doses used are many times lower than the lowest dose at which harm might…
The following video is extracted from the House Science, Space and Technology joint oversight and energy subcommittee hearing examining misconduct and intimidation of scientists by senior executives in DOE chain of command. It features the opening statements from Dr. Sharlene Weatherwax, a plant microbiologist serving as the Director, Biology and Environmental Research for the Department…
I’m working on a story about the demise of the Department of Energy’s Low Dose Radiation Research Program. It’s a lengthy, complicated saga that isn’t yet ready to be published as a complete piece. There is a part of the story worth telling now because it may be valuable to others. It illustrates the way…
Michael Shellenberger, the director of Environmental Progress, recently gave a talk at Cal Poly titled How Fear of Nuclear Ends. As usual, Michael did a terrific job of presenting the talk and provides excellent graphics in support of his primary discussion points. There is, not surprisingly, more to the story he told. After all, he…
Medical Physics recently hosted a point/counterpoint debate about the effects of assuming that all radiation carries a risk that justifies application of the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle. Here is an overview of the debate proposition. The ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle is based upon the assumption that low doses of…
Judy Woodruff introduced a “must see” segment on PBS’s Newshour last night. JUDY WOODRUFF: Now: why some engineers and investors are making big bets to develop a new generation of nuclear reactors. Miles O’Brien has the story. It was a co-production with our friends at PBS “NOVA” tied to the January 11 documentary “The Nuclear…