Gender equity group reports on progress madeNuclear NewsPower & OperationsJune 2, 2020, 12:14PM|Nuclear News StaffGender Champions in Nuclear Policy (GCNP), launched in November 2018, has released a report on the progress made during its inaugural year toward its goal of achieving gender equity in the nuclear policy field. According to a May 28 announcement, the group has had “mostly positive results.”DoverHolgateGCNP was founded by Laura Holgate, vice president for materials risk management at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and Michelle Dover, programs director at the Ploughshares Fund. Starting out with 18 members—known as “gender champions”—the group has since expanded to include more than 50 members in leading roles at 50 organizations around the world. Among other things, the GCNP champions pledge to avoid appearing on single-gender panels whenever possible.What they’re saying: "This first progress report contains plenty of good news about the champions’ pledges and what they and their institutions have learned in the process of implementing them,” Holgate and Dover state in the report’s introduction. “The report also points to obstacles that nuclear policy organizations continue to face in seeking to achieve gender equity and the substantive benefits that it brings. The existential challenge of nuclear policy in all its dimensions—deterrence, nonproliferation, security, energy, disarmament, and so on—requires our best minds and our most committed participants. Our policy community must be inclusive of diversity of knowledge, perspective, experience, and ways of working if we are to manage these risks and opportunities effectively.”Key takeaway: GCNP reports that 74 percent of its gender champions were successful in upholding their commitment to avoid speaking on single-gender panels. “This simple act shows that with directed intent, it’s possible to stop the practice of hosting and joining single-gender panels,” the report states, adding that an additional five champions (12 percent), whose work focuses on women’s issues and who may “appropriately appear on all-female panels,” upheld a modified pledge.Familiar faces: GCNP champions include ANS President Marilyn Kray; Maria Korsnick, president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute; Ernest Moniz, former secretary of energy; Mark Peters, director of Idaho National Laboratory; and Thom Mason, director of Los Alamos National Laboratory .The full report, Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy: Impact Report 2019, is available online.Tags:idaho national laboratorylaura holgatelos alamos national laboratorymarilyn krayntiShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
Baranwal departs Office of Nuclear EnergyBaranwalRita Baranwal, the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy, announced today via Twitter that she will be leaving her position at the end of the day. “It has been an absolute honor to serve in this capacity to help advance our U.S. nuclear energy R&D,” she tweeted. “I plan to continue to use my talents to promote, lead, and advance our nation’s largest source of clean energy so that our nation and my family will have a cleaner and more sustainable planet to protect.”Baranwal previously directed the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) initiative at Idaho National Laboratory. Before joining the DOE, Baranwal served as director of technology development and application at Westinghouse. She is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society.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
NuScale module’s hydrogen production numbers updatedAs a result of last month’s power uprate announcement from NuScale Power regarding its small modular reactor—a 25 percent increase to 77 MWe—the company has now announced updated evaluations for the technical feasibility and economics of producing hydrogen using heat and electricity from its SMR, the NuScale Power Module (NPM). Go to Article
From the ground up: Building a workforce for advanced nuclearINL will need technical, innovative, and safety-minded construction personnel for the advanced nuclear projects ahead. Photo: INLAround the world, researchers in the energy industry are engaging in the work of studying, testing, and developing carbon-free energy solutions. Throughout these circles, many scientists and engineers are embracing the possibilities of advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors and microreactors. While these innovative technologies are poised to address some of the nation’s biggest concerns, they also present their own unique challenges, including the need for a large and talented workforce within the construction industry.Fortunately, the state of Idaho and its key nuclear players are well-equipped for this challenge. In southeastern Idaho, home of Idaho National Laboratory, strong partnerships throughout the region have forged networks between the lab and the educational institutions, employers, trades, and unions that are working to establish this highly specialized nuclear talent pipeline.Go to Article
BWXT restarts TRISO fuel manufacturingBWX Technologies Inc. announced on November 10 that its BWXT Nuclear Operations Group Inc. (BWXT NOG) subsidiary has completed its TRISO nuclear fuel line restart project and is actively producing fuel at its Lynchburg, Va., facility.With the restart, BWXT now manufactures fuel across four commercial and government business lines, the company said. In addition to the TRISO line, BWXT operates fuel production lines at BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada, manufacturer of approximately half of the fuel powering the commercial reactor fleet in Ontario, Canada; BWXT subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services, sole provider of nuclear fuel for the U.S. Navy; and BWXT’s Uranium Processing and Research Reactors operation, the only North American supplier of research reactor fuel elements for colleges, universities, and national laboratories.Go to Article
NTI assessment shows little progress in nuclear securityThe Nuclear Threat Initiative’s 2020 NTI Nuclear Security Index, released last week, finds that progress on the protection of nuclear materials and facilities has slowed significantly over the past two years, reversing a trend of substantial improvements between 2012 and 2018.Published biennially since 2012, the NTI index assesses and tracks nuclear security conditions in countries around the globe, highlighting progress and trends over time. It is produced in cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit, the research and analysis division of the Economist Group media company.Go to Article
Digital engineering: Controlling costs for megaprojectsWith a new generation of nuclear reactors in the works, Idaho National Laboratory has embraced digital engineering (DE) as a means of achieving the same efficiencies that companies in the private sector have been able to realize in everything from concert halls to aircraft engines.DE—using advanced technologies to capture data and craft design in a digitized environment—has been evolving since the 1990s. For Mortenson Construction, a worldwide construction firm, using virtual design and construction resulted in a cumulative 600 days saved over 416 projects and a 25 percent increase in productivity. By building digital twins for assets, systems, and processes, DE has avoided more than $1.05 billion in customer, production, and mechanical losses.Leaders at INL recognized in 2018 that DE could be useful in the design and construction of new commercial and test reactors. Managing construction costs, timing, and performance will be essential to maintain U.S. competitiveness.Go to Article
President’s Session: U.S global leadership in nuclear energy and national securityThe President’s Special Session of the 2020 American Nuclear Society Virtual Annual Meeting, organized by ANS’s Young Members Group (YMG) and Student Sections Committee (SSC), featured an all-star group of nuclear policy luminaries opining on the current influence of nuclear technology on U.S. national security and where the nation stands with regard to leadership of the future global nuclear industry.Go to Article
Experimental Breeder Reactor I: A retrospectiveIn the not-so-distant 20th century past, our planet was in an uncertain new-world order. The second of two major wars had dramatically reshaped the landscape of the world's nations. It was not by any means assured that the extraordinary nuclear process of fission, which itself had been discovered mere years before the second war's end, would be successfully utilized for anything but the tremendous and frightening powers realized in thermonuclear warheads. In the years following, a humble project materializing out of the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho was to challenge that assertion and demonstrate that nuclear fission could indeed be a commercial, peaceful source of electrical power for civilizations around the globe.Go to Article
President Signs Pro-Nuclear LegislationTwo bipartisan pieces of legislation modernizing America's nuclear future have recently become law. It's still a long way from pushing nuclear builds the way we need to address a host of environmental issues, but it is a good start.Go to Article