ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
2026 ANS Annual Conference
May 31–June 3, 2026
Denver, CO|Sheraton Denver
Latest Magazine Issues
May 2026
Jan 2026
2026
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2026
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Getting back to yes: A local perspective on decommissioning, restart, and responsibility
For 45 years, Duane Arnold Energy Center operated in Linn County, Ia., near the town of Palo and just northwest of Cedar Rapids. The facility, owned by NextEra Energy, was the only nuclear power plant in the state.
In August 2020, a historic derecho swept across eastern Iowa with winds approaching 140 miles per hour. Damage to the plant’s cooling towers accelerated a shutdown that had already been planned, and the facility entered decommissioning soon after, with its fuel removed in October of that year. Iowa’s only nuclear plant had gone off line.
Today the national energy landscape looks very different than it did just six short years ago. Electricity demand is rising rapidly as data centers, artificial intelligence infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and electrification expand across the country. Reliable, carbon-free baseload power has become increasingly valuable. In that context, Linn County has approved the rezoning necessary to support the recommissioning and restart of Duane Arnold and is actively supporting NextEra’s efforts to secure the remaining state and federal approvals.
Technical Session|Panel|Sponsored by NISD
Wednesday, November 18, 2020|2:40–4:20PM EST
Session Chair:
N. Prasad Kadambi
Alternate Chair:
Robert W. Youngblood
Session Organizer:
Andrew J. Clark
Staff Producer:
Julie Bry (American Nuclear Society)
RIPB ideas are widely accepted in principle, but have so far realized only part of their full potential. In the operating fleet, licensing processes were originally developed based on Design Basis Accident considerations; RIPB ideas have been applied only perturbatively, generally in order to justify license modifications or enforcement decisions. Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is finding increased use as a way to consider nuclear reactor design, construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning in a continuum of processes rather than compartmentalized activities. This should enable better use of RIPB methods for more useful consensus standards. The ANS has been making progress within the Standards Committee to improve standards development using some aspects of this approach. The panel discussion will consider application of RIPB approaches in other domains, its nexus with Model-Based Systems Engineering, and how best to reflect RIPB principles in consensus standards.
Robert Youngblood, III
Idaho National Laboratory
Kent Welter
NuScale Power
Ralph Hill
Westinghouse Electric Co
Chester Everline
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
To access the session recording, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
Register NowLog In
To access session resources, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.
To join the conversation, you must be logged in and registered for the meeting.