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Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
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Going Nuclear: Notes from the officially unofficial book tour
I work in the analytical labs at one of Europe’s oldest and largest nuclear sites: Sellafield, in northwestern England. I spend my days at the fume hood front, pipette in one hand and radiation probe in the other (and dosimeter pinned to my chest, of course). Outside the lab, I have a second job: I moonlight as a writer and public speaker. My new popular science book—Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World—came out last summer, and it feels like my life has been running at full power ever since.
Educational Session|Panel|Plant Reliability
Monday, August 8, 2022|10:30AM–12:00PM EDT|Banyan 2
Session Chair:
Bill Eckes (INPO)
Track Organizer:
Emmett Wilmes (MPR)
Knowledge Manager:
Ashley Bridgmon (Southern Co.)
The Plant Reliability State of the Union session will be an overview highlighting current events, plant reliability improvement initiatives, trends, and factors impacting utilities and vendors. INPO, in development of IER 21-04, identified more than 600 events that contributed to “Noteworthy - Consequential” events related to equipment related failures that, between 2018 and 2020, led to a loss of generation equivalent to shutting down the entire nuclear industry for 16 days. This session will provide an overview of the various factors and trends that result in equipment related consequential events. Many of these events will be explored in greater detail in other sessions in this Track. In addition, this session will discuss the current actions taken in the industry to address shortfalls in plant reliability and implement IER 21-04, Improving Plant Reliability. Input from discussions during this session will be factored into subsequent sessions in the Plant Reliability track for this Conference.
Bill Eckes
INPO
John McDonald
Drew Walker
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