Dan Yurman at Idaho Samizdat often provides some terrific interviews with dignitaries who visit the Idaho National Laboratory. His most recent is a wide ranging interview with Dale Klein, the former Chairman of the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Dr. Klein has remained on the Commission and continues his efforts in a number of key areas.
The interview discusses NRC personnel opportunities and challenges, implementation of digital control systems, small reactor development and licensing, the advantages of standardization, the need for international cooperation, the funding difficulties associated with the Yucca Mountain effort (my advice – stop doing it and use the valuable human resources elsewhere), and the futility of believing that wind energy can replace nuclear or coal as a reliable power source.
Go and read the interview, but allow yourself several minutes for the task. It is one of Dan’s longer blog posts, but he does provide a link to an 8 page PDF version that you can download for reading while riding a train or bus to work – or whenever else you find yourself with time on your hands.
