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.


Nuclear Plant Construction Delay and Cost 8

July 4, 2019, 11:00AMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

We continue now our look at Appendix III of WASH-1250, the unpublished (except in final draft form) AEC study on reactor safety from 1973.  This appendix describes the rise of the anti-nuclear movement in the United States; the previous installment contains roughly the first half of this important historical record.  We now present the second part, word for word unaltered.

Nuclear Plant Construction Delay and Cost 7

July 1, 2019, 10:06PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

We are quite aware today that a major force in delaying nuclear plant licensing has been the action of "intervenors" - persons, or more often groups pretending to act as concerned individuals, who attend open meetings, file motions, and start all sorts of legal proceedings intended to delay nuclear plants long enough that the owners decide to quit.  How did this all start?

RadioNuclear 22: HBO’s Chernobyl: A Setback or Opportunity?

June 27, 2019, 2:14PMANS Nuclear CafeDoug Hardtmayer

Episode 22 of RadioNuclear is now available. In this episode, we discuss the recent miniseries "Chernobyl", which recently concluded on HBO. We debunk some of the more egregious articles written in the wake of the show (see links to these articles below). We also discuss good ways to engage with individuals who are captivated with the show, and not necessarily familiar with nuclear technology.

The Value of Nuclear - 2019 ANS Annual Meeting Opening Plenary

June 11, 2019, 1:15AMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

American Nuclear Society's 2019 Annual Meeting kicked off today in Minneapolis. President John Kelly opened in the theme of this year's meeting, The Value of Nuclear. The meeting's host, Xcel Energy, committed to end the use of coal by 2030. Kelly pointed out, "that would be impossible without its reliable, well-run nuclear plants* right here in Minnesota."  He added that nuclear power is America's largest source of carbon-free energy and that nuclear energy is critical to any future reductions in the use of fossil fuels or lowering of emissions.

VIDEO: Declaration of Clean Energy signing

June 6, 2019, 3:15PMANS Nuclear Cafe

post-400x400-Decl-Clean-Energy-DHAn impressive 42 representatives of nuclear societies around the world were in France in May 2019 to sign the Declaration of Clean Energy. ANS Past President Donald Hoffman represented  the U.S. and the American Nuclear Society. The goal of the Declaration is to push for nuclear-related R&D to allow nuclear energy to make its contribution towards deep decarbonization goals as part of a clean energy portfolio. Remember folks, "There is no deep decarbonization without nuclear." Enjoy the video!

VIDEO: Realizing the nuclear future

May 31, 2019, 10:31AMANS Nuclear Cafe

Friday-Nuclear-MatineeANS Washington rep Craig Piercy asks: "What's the role for ANS members in realizing the nuclear future?"  Why get involved in the American Nuclear Society? Why attend the meetings? Because getting involved and facing the challenges together gets our voices heard.  ANS members make it happen! Listen as Piercy and ANS member Brett Rampal talk about why it's important to be a part of the nuclear community. Find out more.

VIDEO: Here's why you should attend ANS Meetings

May 24, 2019, 6:43AMANS Nuclear Cafe

ANS Annual MeetingFriday-Nuclear-Matinee will take place this year from June 9 to13 in Minneapolis.  If you haven't registered yet, don't wait much longer. ANS meetings have a long list offerings for you. From incredible speakers, sessions, and tours to the networking opportunities that will amaze. Need more convincing about what ANS Meetings can do for you? Listen to ANS member Brett Rampal as he talks about why he finds the ANS meetings so incredibly valuable.

RNE21: ANS Annual something for everyone- even the supply chain sector- Don Hoffman & Greg Gibson guest

May 20, 2019, 9:41PMANS Nuclear CafeDoug Hardtmayer

Well here it is- Episode 21! This episode we deviate from the norm as it is news-free. This special podcast features ANS Past President and Fellow, United Nuclear Industry Alliance (UNI) Chairman of the Board, and President & CEO of EXCEL Services Corporation Donald Hoffman, along with UNI Executive Director, former President & CEO of Unistar Nuclear Energy, and the chair of this special session Greg Gibson. Listen as they discuss a new and ongoing interactive series of Supply Chain Special Sessions focusing on the next generation of supply chain innovation-a new business road map for the supply chain, domestic and international. This inaugural event will take place at the upcoming ANS Annual Meeting in Minneapolis on Tuesday, June 11.

The Add-Ons

May 17, 2019, 3:46PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

Roughly six years ago, I wrote an article for ANS Nuclear Cafe entitled "The Hook-Ons," which covered small nuclear plants that were added (or "hooked") onto existing or purpose-built cooperative fossil fired plants.  That idea continues to receive attention today as we think about converting various fossil powered things to nuclear.  I say "things" because these might be power plants, chemical plants, factories, or anything else.  In recalling this article recently though, I thought about another aspect of those days of wide nuclear enthusiasm and construction - what about add-ons?  Let's take a look.

RNE 20: What is a Design Certification? Dr. Jose Reyes Guests!

May 8, 2019, 6:38PMANS Nuclear Cafe

Thank you for joining us on Episode 20 of RadioNuclear! In this episode, we discuss the news of the NRC's decision to issue a design certification license for the APR1400 and the monumental effort and process of getting a reactor through design certification process. We cover the recent and unfortunate news regarding the future of nuclear from Southern Company. There may also be a possible lifeline for the VC Summer project?  We also take a minute to discuss a video from friend of the show Dr. Georg Steinhauser on a recent fishing trip to the cooling ponds of Chernobyl.

Dr. Chip Martin Wants To Save The World

April 23, 2019, 6:00AMANS Nuclear CafeChip Martin

N&D-congressional-fellow-apply-190x150Saving our planet. That's the principal reason I applied to become the 2018 ANS Glenn T. Seaborg Nuclear Science and Engineering Policy Congressional Fellow.  After I applied, interviewed and was selected, I was invited to work in the office of Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio's 9th District), who is now in her 19th term in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Kaptur was honored late last year for becoming the longest-serving woman in the House.  This was a fortuitous pairing, as Congresswoman Kaptur is a longtime advocate for American energy independence and now chairs the Appropriation Committee's Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. There was hardly an appointment that had more potential for me to learn the role of policy in our energy future.

ANS and the Value of Nuclear

April 19, 2019, 12:00PMANS Nuclear CafeWill Davis

Nuclear energy is perhaps mankind's ultimate technical achievement.  (Big Rock Point photo from Consumers Power brochure in my collection.)

Nuclear energy is perhaps mankind's ultimate technical achievement. (Big Rock Point photo from Consumers Power brochure in my collection.)

The upcoming American Nuclear Society Annual Meeting in June has, as its theme, "The Value of Nuclear."  I am aware that this phrase covers many different things felt by many different people; I'd like to tell you what it means to me.

VCU Student Conference Empowers Tomorrow's Leaders

April 18, 2019, 4:42PMANS Nuclear CafeRobert Corrigan

In April, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) hosted the annual ANS Student Conference in Richmond, VA. At its core, the student conference is exactly what it sounds like, a conference for students. The conference has everything that one would find at the winter and annual meetings, including technical sessions, panels, poster sessions, and industry partners. This conference, however, is organized and attended primarily by students and is hosted at the heart of a college campus.

Podcast #18: A Lifeline for Ohio’s Nuclear Power Plants?

April 10, 2019, 8:16PMANS Nuclear CafeDoug Hardtmayer

RadioNuclear.orgRadioNuclear Episode 18 is now up! We talk about new legislation in Ohio that may help save the ailing nuclear power plants in their state, discuss the new bi-partisan federal legislation aimed at helping America regain its leadership with advanced nuclear, learn about some interesting new nuclear power plant construction around the world, and talk to three members of the American Nuclear Society's professional engineering committee to discuss the merits of obtaining the PE.