ANS Nuclear Cafe

Looking at the news every day these days, remembering of course that algorithms collate content for me quite often on various platforms, it seems that there's some considerable momentum growing for nuclear energy here in the United States.  What's troubling is that while there is a growing sense of urgency, I also see a continued, repeated focus in far too many articles on 'probably in ten years' technologies.  If there's really an urgency, it seems probable that looking to the next hill is ridiculous while we're getting ready to die on this one.  If we really do need urgency, what do we do?  Here are a few suggestions - feel free to add some constructive or additional ideas in the comments.

Alyse Huffman is at work in the office of the U.S. House of Representatives Commit­tee on Science, Space, and Technology as the 2019 ANS Glenn T. Seaborg Congressio­nal Fellow. ANS News checked in with Huffman in late February, during her seventh week on the job.

Sometimes it feels like we're fighting an uphill battle for nuclear energy - and perhaps we are.

Thank you for joining us for RadioNuclear Episode 17! In this podcast, we discuss a fascinating new poll out of Japan where a survey shows that residents are warming up to nuclear again. We also discuss the new loan guarantees for the Vogtle Construction project and talk a bit about the historical decommissioning of the Sturgis floating nuclear reactor.

Since we published the report on the completion of the dismantling of the STURGIS yesterday, this video seems appropriate.  Today, we have a 23 minute film produced by Martin-Marietta (the nuclear contractor for the project) on the completion of the STURGIS project.  This is one of the most fascinating historic nuclear films you'll see - so don't miss it!

Several news items have come in this week which have one common theme - nuclear energy operation on the water.

Thank you for joining us on Episode 16 of RadioNuclear! In this episode, we discuss why most young people displaced by Fukushima do not want to return to the region. We also discuss why Lithuania wants Belarus to convert its under construction nuclear plants to natural gas, and how Finland is one step closer to bringing Olkiluoto 3 online. Lastly, we discuss how recent cold weather in the state of Washington showcases nuclear power's exceptional performance during extreme weather events.

Einstein is most well-known for his theory of relativity (e=mc²), but did you know these lesser-known facts about everyone's favorite crazy-haired physicist?

The seismic event was huge and was felt all over the world.  With a moment magnitude of over 9.0, the earthquake and was the fourth largest ever in the more than 100 years of recorded history.  Huge land masses shifted as much as 2.4 meters, and the rotation of the earth was changed so that days were suddenly just a little (but measurable) bit shorter.  It had sped up the world.

Although we may not think of art at the same time as we think of nuclear facilities, art has nevertheless played an important role in their development.  The "artist's concept," or an illustration (or model, or doctored photo of a model) was, and is, a very useful tool to display to anyone what a planned facility will look like - no small thing to a community asked to host one, or a utility paying to build one.  There have been many genres of concept illustration or art produced for nuclear plants just as there have been for any other kind of thing - so let's take a look at some from my collection.  Descriptions are in the captions; click photos to enlarge.

During March's Women's History Month, I honor Leona Woods by telling #herstory.

Welcome back for another great episode of RadioNuclear! Today, I am happy to announce that RadioNuclear is now sponsored by the American Nuclear Society, in the hopes to bring you even more of the podcast you know and love! In this episode, we cover a range of news topics, including how anti-nuclear policy and perception are hurting the nuclear industry in the U.S. and South Korea. We also cover INL's 70^th year of operation, and talk about a great advocacy toolkit from the Department of Energy, the Ultimate Fast Facts Guide to Nuclear Energy.

Early 1960's artist's concept for a commercial organic cooled nuclear power plant - right near a city. This isn't far from what actually happened as we'll see below. Concept art published by Atomics International.

The present re-examination of reactor principles tried in the past but for one or another reason sidelined has skipped a very significant principle:  Organic coolant.  This was an early idea which received a great deal of research and press during the great buildup of nuclear technology; today, it's largely been forgotten.  Let's take another look!

Idaho National Laboratory is celebrating 70 years of operation in the mission of advancing knowledge in the field of nuclear technology.  Materials, methods - even basic questions about feasibility of certain concepts - have been tested and proven at this historic, and quite large remote facility in the Idaho desert over all these years.  A number of notable firsts have occurred there, including the first operation of a nuclear plant designed for shipboard use (STR, later S1W) as well as tests for the (abortive) nuclear bomber program.  Thousands of valuable test hours were racked up by samples in the legendary Materials Test Reactor and its neighbor the Engineering Test Reactor - both now gone, their former sites mostly now a parking lot.

As I write this, I'm excited to know the future of the American Nuclear Society will involve the activities and efforts of the newly formed Diversity and Inclusion in ANS (DIA) Committee. The DIA Committee was formed after the 2018 Annual Meeting by expanding the Professional Women in ANS (PWANS) committee with the inclusion of Nuclear Pride, a LGBTQA+ nuclear organization. It is dedicated to giving a voice to all underrepresented and marginalized groups within ANS, including, but not limited to, women, persons of color, the LGBTQA+ community, and people with disabilities. This new committee is the result of the combined efforts of several people over several years to ensure all of these groups, named and not named, have a voice.

Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951, Engineers Week (EWeek), is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing interest in engineering and technology careers. This year, consider bringing an engineer into your plans.

It was released this week that the US Army Corps of Engineers has decided to enter into the process of decontaminating and dismantling the historic SM-1 nuclear plant at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. This early military prototype plant isn't often discussed or even remembered today, so let's look at the history of this project through photos.

Nuclear energy has played a key supporting role in historic missions to Mars, Pluto, and across the Solar System for the last 50 years. On January 1 2019, the nuclear-powered New Horizons flew by the most distant object ever observed up close - Ultima Thule, after it having already flown by Pluto in 2015.

Our latest ANS Nuclear Cafe Matinee film is the latest video update by Southern Company on the progress of the Vogtle nuclear plant expansion.  This video runs just over seven minutes and brings you the details of the construction as of the last quarter of 2018.  Enjoy!

Welcome to the New Year!  Even though I am on the road, there is just so much happening lately in nuclear I could not pass up the opportunity to talk about it! This episode of RadioNuclear, we take a look at recent and exciting legislation and policy for advanced nuclear. This includes the passages of the NEIMA and NEICA bills and what the Idaho National Laboratory may look like in the coming years. We also discuss the NRC's recent decision on post Fukushima regulation. Lastly, we look on how you can adopt a dog from the Chernobyl exclusion zone. No, I am not making that up!