ANS Nuclear Cafe

The ANS Nuclear Cafe is a blog owned and edited by the American Nuclear Society. Information contained on the ANS Nuclear Cafe has been provided by numerous sources. Therefore, the American Nuclear Society assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy of information contained herein. DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in posted articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Nuclear Society. The views expressed here are those of the individual authors. ANS takes no ownership of their views. The American Nuclear Society assumes no responsibility or liability for any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained on this site.


Eisenhower's Atomic Power for Peace III: CAP and Power Demonstration Reactors

March 20, 2014, 3:57PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

Hallam Nuclear Power Facility; part of Sheldon Station.

In our previous installment we looked at the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Five Year Plan for development of commercial nuclear power in the United States. In this final installment, we'll look at two programs that were initiated in the mid-1950s to help launch the era of construction of commercial power reactors-the Civilian Application Program, and the Power Demonstration Reactor Program.

Persistent Prejudice Against Nuclear—Can Anything Be Done? Part 3

March 18, 2014, 6:00AMANS Nuclear CafeJim Hopf

At this site in January, I made the case that there is significant and persistent prejudice against nuclear power among both the public and policymakers. In February, I discussed several approaches to ameliorating nuclear's current and future problems (which are largely due to said prejudice) and the limitations of each approach. This month, I will explore one last possible option: challenging the biased and unfair treatment of nuclear under current policies and regulation-in court.

Fukushima Three Years Later

March 11, 2014, 6:00AMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

KashiwazakiKariwa

Tokyo Electric Power Company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Station; Units 6 and 7 were submitted for safety screening in September 2013.

In our collective memory, disturbing images played out on video around the world in the days following the apocalyptic Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami have somewhat receded, even if they haven't lost their impact-images of rushing waters, floating vehicles, buildings and debris, massive (and unstoppable) outbreaks of fire, and implications of lives lost and lives ruined.

Nuclear Matinee: 'Cosmos' Returns

March 7, 2014, 7:00AMANS Nuclear Cafe

"It is time to make the case for science," says host Neil deGrasse Tyson of the upcoming relaunch of the classic 1980 series Cosmos. The new Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey premieres this Sunday, March 9, on FOX, and Monday, March 10, on the National Geographic Network-all in all, in 170 countries and 45 languages, the largest global opening ever for any television series, according to executive producer, writer, and director Ann Druyan.

Argonne nuclear engineer on new season of Survivor

February 26, 2014, 7:00AMANS Nuclear CafeLenka Kollar

Dr. J'Tia Taylor is a nuclear engineer at Argonne National Laboratory-and on the cast for the newest season of Survivor, which premiered on February 26 at 8/7c on CBS. J'Tia received her Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was the first black female to successfully defend and receive a Ph.D. from the department. She now works at Argonne in the area of nuclear nonproliferation policy-learn more about J'Tia's work at Argonne here.