Nuclear News on the Newswire

Nuclear technology for today and tomorrow

Hash Hashemian
president@ans.org

I am deeply honored and grateful to have been elected president of the American Nuclear Society. Your support and confidence in me are truly humbling, and I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you.

As president, my top priority is to expedite the deployment of new nuclear reactors, beginning with small modular reactors and eventually progressing to Generation IV systems. I will also work to ensure that the United States keeps its global leadership in this field. For the U.S. to do that, the federal government must maintain and expand its financial support of the nuclear industry by preserving critical incentives, tax provisions, and infrastructure investments.

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Test reactor fuel fabrication will be fast-tracked by DOE under new pilot program

The Department of Energy has announced a program to accelerate nuclear fuel fabrication for new test reactors. The Fuel Line Pilot Program would see the DOE approve facilities developed by U.S. companies to produce the fuel needed for test reactors the DOE expects to authorize under the Reactor Pilot Program announced in June. Like the reactors they’re meant to fuel, the fabrication facilities would be built on sites outside the DOE’s national laboratories but authorized by the DOE under “a fast-tracked approach to enable future commercial licensing activities for potential applicants.”

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House Oversight Committee schedules hearing on nuclear energy

Burlison

Rep. Eric Burlison (R., Mo.), the chairman of the U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, has announced a hearing on “The New Atomic Age: Advancing America’s Energy Future.”

The hearing will take place on Tuesday, July 22, at 1:00 pm (ET). Witnesses include Alex Epstein, president and founder of the Center for Industrial Progress, and Joshua Smith, energy policy lead at the Abundance Institute.

Details: According to the chairman’s office, the hearing will explore recent developments in nuclear energy technology, the commercial viability of advanced reactors, supply chain challenges, and policy pathways for Congress to strengthen nuclear power in the United States.

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The RAIN scale: A good intention that falls short

Radiation protection specialists agree that clear communication of radiation risks remains a vexing challenge that cannot be solved solely by finding new ways to convey technical information.

Earlier this year, an article in Nuclear News described a new radiation risk communication tool, known as the Radiation Index, or, RAIN (“Let it RAIN: A new approach to radiation communication,” NN, Jan. 2025, p. 36). The authors of the article created the RAIN scale to improve radiation risk communication to the general public who are not well-versed in important aspects of radiation exposures, including radiation dose quantities, units, and values; associated health consequences; and the benefits derived from radiation exposures.

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INL to use Microsoft’s AI to streamline nuclear licensing

The Idaho National Laboratory has announced that it will collaborate with Microsoft on the use of artificial intelligence technologies to streamline the nuclear permitting and licensing application process. Using Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, INL will generate the engineering and safety analysis reports that are required to be submitted for construction permits and operating licenses for nuclear power plants.

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