Show number 14 is something special. It is the first time that Shane and I invite a guest for an interview. Though we have a little difficulty with sound quality, we believe that this is one of our best efforts so far.
Our guest, Ted Rockwell is a true nuclear pioneer, having been a part of the Manhattan Project and having served as Admiral Rickover’s Technical Director during the important early years of developing and building the Navy Nuclear Power Program. In addition to being a scientist, a technical leader and an all around great guy, Ted is an author and a storyteller.
During the interview, we talk about the importance of using realistic assumptions when projecting the effects of any postulated occurrence in a nuclear energy system. We also describe some of the far fetched assumptions that underly some of the scenarios that you might have read in certain kinds of anti-nuclear propaganda.
Imagine – one computation for the hazards associated with transporting used nuclear fuel includes the use of a perfectly aimed anti-tank weapon in a crowded city with people that are not allowed to move for one year after the container is hit.
I hope that you enjoy the interview and forgive us for the sound quality that obscures Ted’s words in some places. Here are some links to Ted’s books that are available on Amazon.com.
Creating the New World: Stories and Images From the Dawn of the Atomic Age.
The Rickover Effect: The Inside Story of How Adm. Hyman Rickover Built the Nuclear Navy
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:57 — 17.5MB)
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Fantastic interview. This guy is a national treasure.
I got a little behind and finally caught up with this episode.
Nuclear Power School had everything classified as NOFORN which was done under a special exception congress wrote to the classification rules. The exception was made for any training facility where the trainees would, upon completion, have a significant probability of handling classified material.
I worked in Personnel in Orlando, FL as a bus driver, but learned a lot about how the Navy processed people out.
Any person who lost control of the NOFORN material did not get administratively discharged for the loss of classified material. Rather, they were removed from Nuclear Power School for failure to follow security proceedures.
We were told that the legal requirements to prove a loss of classified material were fairly complex and nearly impossible when dealing with NOFORN material. Additionally, the loss of classified material required a dishonorable discharge from the Navy which is easily contestable. The failure to follow security proceedures moved people into a grouping which could then easily be removed from the nuclear navy with the personnel are not required to fulfill our mission reason which the individual already has waived their right to contest when signing the enlistment papers.