Vermont's "Citizen Legislature" meets from January to May/June. During this term, the major issue is Hurricane Irene and its aftermath. The hurricane caused major devastation, but, thankfully, few lives were lost.

Federal District Court rules against efforts by the State of Vermont to assert regulatory authority over radiological safety issues

It is the latest in a series of deadly attacks

The January issue of Nuclear News magazine is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The issue contains the following stories:

Congress trims funding while adding new priorities

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted unanimously on December 22 in favor of publishing the final certification rule for Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design, instructing the agency's staff to forward the final rule, which amends Appendix D of 10 CFR Part 52, for publication in the Federal Register, expected by January 5.

An advanced reactor could be used to consume 112 tonnes of weapons grade material

Sixty years ago on December 20, scientists and engineers in Arco, Idaho,

The December issue of Nuclear News magazine, which contains a special section on instrumentation and control, is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The special section contains the following stories:

Two members of the American Nuclear Society were named ANS Fellows on November 1 at the ANS Annual Winter Meeting and Nuclear Technology Expo. These awards were presented by ANS President Eric Loewen in recognition of the Fellows' significant contributions and achievements to nuclear science and technology.

Our intrepid reporter files another update from the ANS Winter Meeting.

As discussed in my June 20 post, small modular reactors (SMRs) have many potential advantages, and could very well represent nuclear's best prospect for the future. The industry has run into trouble, however, in getting government support for getting SMRs off the ground.

For a while in the early 1990s, my work at Nuclear News magazine included coverage of Washington, D.C.  Eight or ten times a year, I'd spend two or three days in our nation's capital, attending congressional hearings, interviewing bigwigs, pestering agencies to give me copies of arcane documents, and frantically taking notes in public meetings at the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

As part of the team that supported the startup of Yonggwang-3 and -4 (South Korea's first nuclear units, built in a technology transfer program with Combustion Engineering), I thought it long overdue to see a book that chronicled South Korea's journey from an impoverished nation to one of the world's leading players in the nuclear industry (e.g., South Korea has 21 operating reactors versus Germany's 17).

ANS President Eric Loewen speaking at press conference in Mumbai, India, 9/28/11

A high-powered nuclear energy delegation from the United States, led by American Nuclear Society President Eric Loewen, is visiting India this week to participate in the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Energy Safety Summit being held here on September 30.

The French nuclear giant will get its chance to show what it can do with an American reactor

The September issue of Nuclear News is available in hard copy and electronically for American Nuclear Society members (must enter ANS user name and password in Member Center). The issue contains a variety of features, including:

On August 25, 2011, I had the privilege of attending the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Center for Advanced Engineering Research (CAER) located in Bedford County, Va., near Lynchburg. The crowd at the event included representatives of local, state, and federal governments, as well as a number of area business people, academics, and boosters.

The hunt is on in Vietnam, Turkey, and elsewhere