Looking Back: A Brief History of CONTEANS Nuclear CafeJanuary 2, 2019, 2:37AM|Dr. Jane LeClairThe accident that occurred at Three Mile Island on March 28, 1979, brought about many changes to the nuclear industry. Among the changes was the industry stopping to reflect on current procedures and the training of its employees. Exhorted by the findings of the Kemeny Commission and sponsored by the Department of Energy, industry leaders and training personnel began meeting on improvements to training at the Gatlinburg Conference in the early 1980's.A popular event for the exchange of ideas, the annual meeting was by many accounts the largest gathering of personnel involved in nuclear training. It continued in Gatlinburg until 1998 when the event moved to the Peabody Orlando and renamed the Conference on Nuclear Training and Education (CONTE). Three years later in 2001, the conference changed to a biannual gathering in Orlando and ran as such until 2007. That year (2007), big changes happened with CONTE as it merged with the American Nuclear Society (ANS), was folded into the Education, Training, Workforce Development Division (ETWDD) and began holding its meetings in Jacksonville, Fla. This highly informative and educational gathering continued to meet biannually during the month of February in Jacksonville, Fla. until 2017. Following the 2017 meeting, board members, acting on input from participants, decided to move the venue to nearby St. Augustine, Fla.In 2019, The Conference on Nuclear Training and Education: A Biennial International Forum, will be held at World Golf Village, Renaissance St. Augustine Resort in St. Augustine, Fla., February 5-7, 2019. As always, the emphasis of this biennial international forum will be on the future of the nuclear industry and is aimed primarily at training, education and workforce development. At the upcoming meeting topics of interest will include issues involving personnel and operator training, human performance, cybersecurity, accreditation/international standards, leadership, simulator/ simulations, and much more.Over the years CONTE, in its various forms, has continued to provide the industry with a cornucopia of information that participants have taken back to their respective plants to improve training. From its beginnings the event has had but one goal, to improve the safety of operations so that the likelihood of another Three Mile accident is lessened.Registration for the conference is now open. We look forward to your participation.Feel free to leave a constructive remark or question for the author in the comment section below. Tags:american nuclear societycareers in nuclearchinacontecountries around the globecybersecuritydepartment of energyengineeringetwddfloridafrancefukushimagermanyindiairanjapanmarch 28 1979nuclearnuclear newsnuclear technologyrussiasecuritysouth africasouth koreast. augustinethree mile islandunited kingdomunited statesShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
NuScale SMR chosen for U.K. wind-nuclear hybridBritish hybrid clean energy company Shearwater Energy announced on January 15 that it is joining with U.S.-based NuScale Power to develop a hybrid project using wind energy and small modular reactor technology to produce power and green hydrogen.According to news reports, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on an initial project, which could be sited at the now-decommissioned Wylfa nuclear power station on the island of Anglesey, off the northwestern coast of Wales. No land agreements have been reached, however.Go to Article
U.K. launches study into nuclear-powered space explorationA new research contract between the U.K. Space Agency and Rolls-Royce will see planetary scientists working together to explore nuclear power as an energy source for deep space missions in the decades to come. The effort is similar to one that the United States is undertaking through NASA."Space nuclear power and propulsion is a game-changing concept that could unlock future deep-space missions that take us to Mars and beyond," said Graham Turnock, chief executive of the U.K Space Agency, on January 12. "This study will help us understand the exciting potential of atomic-powered spacecraft, and whether this nascent technology could help us travel further and faster through space than ever before."Go to Article
IAEA confirms Iran working on uranium metal for reactor fuelIran has started work on uranium metal-based fuel for a research reactor, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog and Tehran said on Wednesday. Kazem Gharib Abadi, Iran’s representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that the country has started working on the fuel, saying that everything has been reported to the agency.Iran's action is the latest breach of its nuclear deal with six significant powers as it presses for a lifting of U.S. sanctions.Go to Article
New year brings into force a new U.K.-EU nuclear pactAlong with the wider Trade and Cooperation Agreement it signed late last month with the European Union to address post-Brexit realities, the U.K. government concluded a stand-alone Nuclear Cooperation Agreement with the European Atomic Energy Community, better known as Euratom. The NCA went into effect January 1.Go to Article
EU Taxonomy to Include Nuclear Energy as Sustainable Energy Source ANS PositionA PDF version of the letter can be downloaded here. I write on behalf of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) to recommend the EU’s inclusion of nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source securing Europe’s prosperous future. ANS and the 10,000 nuclear technology professionals it represents are committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit humanity.Go to Article
Ex-Im Bank, Poland sign MOU on U.S. energy investmentPolish Minister of Climate and Environment Michał Kurtyka (left) and Ex-Im Chairman Kimberly Reed sign an MOU on U.S. energy investment in Poland on December 11. Photo: EXIMIn another sign of U.S. interest in helping Poland develop a civil nuclear power program, the Export-Import Bank of the United States announced last week that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Polish government to promote U.S. energy investment in the Central European nation. (For an earlier agreement, see here.)The MOU was signed in Warsaw on December 11 by Ex-Im president and chairman, Kimberly A. Reed, and Poland’s minister of climate and environment, Michał Kurtyka, during Reed’s three-day visit to Poland.The Ex-Im: As the official export credit agency of the United States, Ex-Im provides loans, loan guarantees, and insurance to foreign customers purchasing U.S. exports.The MOU particulars: The MOU calls for Ex-Im and Poland to “explore and identify potential opportunities for Ex-Im financing and to work together to promote business development opportunities related to strategic energy projects and programs,” according to Ex-Im’s announcement. The agreement includes, but is not limited to, support for projects in nuclear energy, in particular in support of strategic projects under Poland’s nuclear power program, low- and zero-emission technologies, clean energy innovation, and critical energy infrastructure, including cybersecurity solutions.Go to Article
NNSA reportedly hacked as part of “extensive espionage operation”In an exclusive story published yesterday, the news website Politico reports that networks of the National Nuclear Security Administration and other federal entities have been hacked “as part of an extensive espionage operation.” Citing officials familiar with the matter, the story says that network breaches have been identified at the NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation (which is responsible for the transport of government-owned special nuclear materials), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, the Department of Energy’s Richland Field Office, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. According to the story, the hackers are believed to have gained access to the networks “by compromising the software company SolarWinds, which sells IT management products to hundreds of government and private-sector clients.” Go to Article
ANS signs agreement with Spanish Nuclear SocietyThe American Nuclear Society and Sociedad Nuclear Española (SNE) on December 10 signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) that creates a partnership between the two societies to cooperate in promoting the development of nuclear science and technology for peaceful purposes.Go to Article
Russia seeking customers for floating nuclear plants, report saysTechnicians loading the first reactor aboard the Akademik Lomonosov, Russia's floating nuclear power plant. Credit: Rosatom.The Bellona news site is reporting that Rosatom is marketing its floating nuclear power plants to foreign countries. The news item noted on December 14 that Russia’s Tass newswire had published the information, citing government statements. Rosatom is Russia’s state nuclear corporation.“Rosatom has made proposals for the installation of floating units to a number of foreign countries,” Yury Trutnev, a deputy prime minister and presidential representative to Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District, said earlier this month, according to Tass. “It’s clear that one unit is not enough for us to sell such modules. Their future replication would open a possibility for Russia to open a market niche where there currently is no one.”Go to Article
U.K. sets plans for clean energy and green jobs by 2050A 170-page energy white paper, Powering Our Net Zero Future, issued by the United Kingdom government on December 14 sets big goals for cleaning up the U.K.’s energy system. According to the U.K. government, the plan would create and support green energy jobs across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and would keep electricity bills affordable as the U.K. transitions to net zero emissions by 2050.The white paper notes that the U.K. will generate emission-free electricity by 2050 with a trajectory that will see "overwhelmingly decarbonized power in the 2030s. Low carbon electricity will be a key enabler of our transition to a net zero economy with demand expected to double due to transport and low carbon heat."The white paper builds upon the U.K. prime minister’s 38-page Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, which was issued on November 18.Go to Article