ANS Nuclear Cafe

Yesterday, we had one of the nicer yet stranger events during this wholly strange time - that is, the meeting of the American Nuclear Society's Book Publishing Committee, of which yours truly is the Vice Chair.  I say "nicer" because I always look forward to these meetings, given the opportunity they afford to interact with some of ANS' finest people and the fact that these meetings really get things done.  I say "stranger" because it was a Zoom meeting and not face to face, around a table.  What's even more impacting for me is the fact that the BPC meeting usually is the first event I attend at ANS' Annual and Winter meetings and it serves, thus, as the best possible kickoff for me.  November, maybe.  Maybe.

I'm writing this on National Maritime Day 2020, a day in which we think of and thank all those who have worked on the water moving people and things.  Our nation's maritime history isn't as long as that of some other nations but it has been rich and, worldwide, significant.  We've contributed a number of "firsts."

The second of our special series covering documentaries of early US reactors is this very thoroughly set up and filmed documentary on the Experimental Boiling Water Reactor, produced by Argonne National Laboratory.

Our matinee feature this week is a film produced by Argonne National Laboratory, entitled "Chicago Pile 1: The Day Tomorrow Began."  This is the film history, from the official source, of the effort to design, construct and operate what became the first chain-reacting atomic pile in history.

With talk of the Coronavirus permeating every outlet and venue it might be good to take, at least shortly, a simple side trip for the purpose of distraction.  And that side trip today is a look at an official AEC film documenting "The First Nuclear Reactor In Space: SNAP 10A."

Episode 29 of RadioNuclear is now online! In this episode, we discuss the potential for micro-reactors and their use on military front-lines Do they offer a strategic advantage, or are they a liability? Additionally, does Gen Z understand nuclear? Apparently not, because 72% of Gen-Z doesn't know nuclear doesn't emit C02. Next, we discuss how congressional members on the hill are supporting the modernization of the NRC reactor oversight process. Lastly, some more good news out of India, because they have just agreed to build 6 new nuclear reactors with Westinghouse. Some truly great news!

(Reprinted with permission from ANS News, January/February 2020, p. 2)

The 14th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Applications of Accelerators (AccApp'20) is being organized by the Accelerator Applications Division (AAD) of the American Nuclear Society in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. AccApp '20 will be held April 5-9 at IAEA headquarters in Vienna.

Friends and colleagues - Usually I write about "the old days" of nuclear in this space but something came up in current events that really sticks in my craw, and I have to shine the spotlight on it here.  So please indulge me and read along.  (We'll get back to "the old days" soon enough, don't you worry!)

Thank you for joining us for Episode 28 of RadioNuclear! This week, we talk about the recent false alarm involving the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in Canada and about an opinion piece over a recent MIT study claiming that nuclear is not needed for deep decarbonization. We also discuss about why some regions of the world have an easier time building nuclear plants, when compared to other regions of the world.

Over the years that I've been writing for ANS, I've managed largely through that association to come into possession of a number of fairly odd things.  I mean, all of us have things that the "normal person" (and by that I mean non-nuclear) would find pretty strange, but I'm telling you I have some strange things that are a bit further out than garden-variety strange.  I'd like to tell you about just two.

Fall 2019 was a banner period for five developers of small modular reactors. Here is a roundup of their announcements as well as some information about their plans for the future.