The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is 35 years old.   Over those 35 years the NRC has not certified any new reactor types.  Not One.  Today, only four designs can be referenced for applications to build and operate a nuclear power plant.  They are:
1.  Advanced Boiling Water Reactor design by GE Nuclear Energy last updated [...]

Or technology can be in the wrong hands.
Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold, old pals at Microsoft are going after nuclear power.  I’m not surprised.  We had a look last year followed by the PR folks of Mr. Myhrvold shopping for more postings here about TerraPower. Publicity can be hard to get when you have the [...]

While lots of folks don’t watch or read Wired Magazine, lots of young people do.  Wired runs to the younger set, which is getting older, and more of a voice as the last election made clear. Once riled up, the count and solidity of the demographic is impressive.
Richard Martin of Wired wrote ‘Uranium Is So [...]

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) scientists are working with Babcock and Wilcox Inc., General Atomics, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to establish standards and procedures for the manufacture of commercial-scale new uranium fuels.  The team has set a new world record with next-generation particle fuel (aka fuel pellets) for use in high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).
The [...]

Making the latest news is the new design from Toshiba is the 4S.  The four ‘S’s are for super, safe, small and simple.  The design is such that the tendency to call sealed reactors batteries applies as well.
The technical specifications for the 4S reactor are unique in the nuclear industry. The actual reactor would be [...]

Rod Adams at Atomic Insights Blog is a not to be missed weekly stop for this writer.  Mr. Adams is located close to the regulatory action, conferences and has the experience and background to make sense of it all with his gift of communicating to the informed masses – that’s us.  He recently made ammo [...]

The more energy pulled out of uranium fuels the less radioactive waste remains at the end.  That fact has been on the minds of many in science and business for decades.
Nuclear experts say the proposed Advanced Recycling Center (ARC) could help to solve the biggest radioactive waste concerns as the world atomic power industry looks [...]

One such ‘Big Difference’ person is Charles Barton who writes about nuclear energy at the Nuclear Green Blog.  By some wee bit of astonishment Mr. Barton has engaged Jesse Jenkins, the Director of Energy and Climate Policy of the The Breakthrough Institute, an active Energy/Environment Blogger, and an active participant on the Energy Collective, in [...]

University of Missouri researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient. Before you freak out, Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU says, “People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous. However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety [...]

The Latest Nuclear Disaster

September 29, 2009 | 1 Comment

The U.S. is facing a nuclear disaster well underway and threatening to get much worse.  It’s personnel leaving the field, and it’s a horrifying nightmare.  Skills for oversight and regulatory issues, safety and new develpoments are disappearing.
Christopher Kouts, is acting director of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management at the Department of Energy.  The [...]

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