Features

Commercial nuclear power is illegal in Australia, and it has been since the 1990s. This past June, however, the country’s main opposition party announced plans to build seven commercial nuclear reactors in the 2030s and 2040s on sites presently occupied by aging coal-fired plants—should the party’s Liberal–National Coalition win power in federal elections next year. This statement has reignited a public debate regarding the potential role of nuclear energy in Australia.

Unit 2 at the Prairie Island nuclear power plant near Red Wing, Minn., underwent an outage in fall 2023, which included extensive work on the reactor vessel using a novel approach to replace baffle-former bolts and lower radial clevis insert bolts. The work relied on extensive analysis beforehand to determine which bolts to replace such that only the new bolts were structurally credited for performance of their safety function. This proactive approach eliminated the need for costly contingencies associated with inspections.

Julie and Jim Byrne on their wedding day, May 22, 1976.

As I was finishing my studies at the University of Pittsburgh and about to graduate with a degree in civil engineering, I talked to a local navy recruiter about a position with the Seabees. He told me there were no Seabee billets, but that the navy had a nuclear power program that might interest me. When I said yes, it wasn’t long before I was whisked off to Washington, D.C., to interview with someone named Admiral Hyman Rickover. The one thing they told me was to stand up to “the kindly old gentleman.”

The day started with technical interviews and then I was ushered into the admiral’s office. I was a typical college student, and I spent my money on food and beer and not on haircuts. On seeing me, Admiral Rickover told me that I looked like a girl. After a bit of back-and-forth, he asked me a couple of other questions. His last comment to me was that I must know something and to get out of his office.

Fulton Station was to be a two-unit high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that was originally planned to start commercial operation in 1981 for Unit 1 and in 1983 for Unit 2. Each reactor was to provide 1,160 MWe of power. The nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) and fuel were to be developed by General Atomics (GA), and engineering firm Stone & Webster was charged with handling the construction. The Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) had big plans for Fulton Station, but ultimately, the plant was never built.

Sam Lochmann is a well-respected sergeant in the security department at the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant near Burlington, Kan. The plant, a 1,200-MWe Westinghouse pressurized water reactor operated by Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation (WCNOC), had its 26th refueling outage this past spring.

Earnestine Johnson

Even if conditions for mentoring are ideal, there is no guarantee that your employees won’t leave for other opportunities. Mentoring should be viewed as a duty and not as something that slows one’s work progress. In nuclear, we are challenged with striving continuously to become better professionals in our roles. Mentoring can accelerate that journey exponentially.

Although we will encounter employees who will not listen even in the best of mentoring moments, we cannot afford to lessen our efforts. Instead, work with those who welcome your time and your insights, because the nuclear industry can be an overwhelming realm to enter. We grow accustomed to the sheer volume of acronyms we use, the system complexities and nuances, the challenging and stringent regulatory environment, the personal challenges from fellow co-workers, and the high stakes associated with nuclear safety. Any one of these represents a challenge for even the most skilled engineers and technicians—and we sometimes take for granted this insider knowledge, forgetting that newcomers to the field do not yet have that perspective.

Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org

Twice a year, the ANS president and I work with the general chair of our next national meeting to set the theme of the event.

It’s no easy process. Sure, one can be anodyne, picking anything with “collaborations” or “partnerships” in it—perfectly acceptable but easily forgotten. “Partnerships for Innovation.” Yay! Wait, what?

The true goal is to capture the zeitgeist, the vibe that can frame properly a fulsome conversation around the state of applied nuclear science and technology at this particular moment in time. Yes, our theme is intended largely for the opening plenary, but I’ve often seen speakers use it as a conversational leverage point in the technical and executive sessions that follow.

With the recent mobilization at the site of the former SM-1A nuclear power plant at Fort Greely, Alaska, the Radiological Health Physics Regional Center of Expertise, located at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Baltimore District, began its work toward the decommissioning and dismantlement of its third nuclear power plant, this time located just 175 miles south of the Arctic Circle.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the American Nuclear Society.

Plenty of sources incorrectly list our birthday, but the reality is that October 11, 1954, is the correct date for the establishment of ANS.

The 2024 Utility Working Conference brought together the nuclear industry’s best in August to discuss and learn from key developments, successes, opportunities, and needs in the sector. American Nuclear Society Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer Craig Piercy opened the conference and its first plenary by talking about the nuclear industry’s current momentum.

Focused on the post-cleanup management of closed Department of Energy sites, the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) is responsible for the long-term surveillance and maintenance of more than 100 sites across the United States and Puerto Rico associated with past radiological and nuclear material production and testing, and energy research—some dating from as early as the Manhattan Project. With cleanup completed, many of these sites have been put to beneficial reuse and repurposed as parks and nature preserves, where visitors can witness the return of thriving ecosystems.

Robotics is fast becoming a go-to for nuclear decommissioning advances, and several organizations working in West Cumbria, England, the hub of the United Kingdom’s energy sector, have formed a partnership to share insight and work together to address common challenges and opportunities. Cumbria Robotics Cluster is an ambitious initiative powered by the Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH) to harness and expand the region’s renowned capabilities in cutting-edge engineering and problem solving.

Lisa Marshall
president@ans.org

My current position affords me the opportunity to travel across the nation and world, engaging with people and organizations. I am deliberately using the word engagement to stress the long-term relationship aspect of our endeavors. It is an opportunity to listen—not to respond, but to understand. It is also an opportunity to foster a collaborative connection where comfort in posing questions and developing solutions are achieved.

Pulling from engagement in the higher education literature:

Historically, in a different societal context, higher education reached out to communities in an expert model of knowledge delivery. That connection with communities has transitioned over the years to a more engaged model in which community and university partners cocreate solutions. This occurs at local, national, and global levels. Today and in the future, public universities need to build on their experience of university–community relationships and transition to making engagement more central to the core of the institution. Through such progress, higher education can continue to contribute fully to the advancement of the United States as a stronger, wealthier, and more equitable country.¹

In October 2012, Dominion Energy announced it was closing the Kewaunee nuclear power plant, a two-loop 574-MWe pressurized water reactor located about 27 miles southeast of Green Bay, Wis., on the western shore of Lake Michigan. At the time, Dominion said the plant was running well, but that low wholesale electricity prices in the region made it uneconomical to continue operation of the single-unit merchant power plant.

Ann Stouffer Bisconti has been surveying and analyzing the American public’s attitudes and knowledge about nuclear energy for more than four decades. Her research company’s 2024 survey proved to be especially revealing. “The 2024 National Nuclear Energy Public Opinion Survey contained such a wealth of information that I prepared nine reports” to cover all the collected data, she said.

A new course at the University of Michigan offered by the Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences (NERS) Department seeks to address the lack of community engagement in the design of energy technologies by pioneering a socially engaged approach.

Walt Kirchner

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) is seeking qualified candidates for two open positions. The ACRS is the world’s oldest organization devoted to reactor safety and is statutorily mandated by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. Today, the ACRS reports directly to the NRC’s commission and provides an independent expert technical review of and advice on matters related to the safety of existing and proposed nuclear facilities and on the adequacy of proposed reactor safety standards. The ACRS also advises the commission on health physics, radiation protection, and nuclear waste disposal facility issues.

The ACRS is a part-time advisory group consisting of a maximum of 15 members who are well-recognized experts in technical areas that are key to nuclear safety and whose membership represents a diverse breadth of experience in all aspects of the nuclear enterprise: industry, universities, national laboratories, and government.

On July 28, 2023, the Department of Energy launched its Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, an effort to repurpose underutilized DOE-owned property—portions of which were previously used in the nation’s nuclear weapons program—into the sites of clean-energy generation.

Nuclear science and technology is uniquely positioned to be a gateway for curiosity and exploration for students in grades K–12. Its study examines the literal fabric of reality, it has applications from the tiniest to the grandest of scales. It’s a constantly evolving industry with a bright future of discoveries and new technologies, and it’s an essential factor in our global effort to reduce carbon emissions and transition to cleaner energy sources. Frankly, learning about and doing things with atoms is pretty cool, from a kid’s perspective.

I really think so. Especially after visiting Abilene Christian University’s new Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center, the home of the Nuclear Energy Experimental Testing (NEXT) Lab and where the university will test its new molten salt research reactor design. The visit was part of the 12th Thorium Energy Alliance Conference. NEXT Lab director and program manager Rusty Towell anticipates that the research reactor will be operational in two years, and I believe it will. What was most impressive is that the reactor is suited to be scaled to any size from small to large—a key feature in any decarbonized world.