The May issue of Nuclear Energy Insight is now available online. The cover story features the NEI-sponsored race car and driver Simona de Silvestro, winner of the Atlantic Championship season opener. Other featured articles discuss the construction of new nuclear power plants around the world, plans for small-scale reactors for use in remote locations, the nuclear industry’s strategic role in emergency response and federal grants given to community colleges for energy-related job training.
Below is from our rapid response team . Yesterday, regional anti-nuclear organizations asked federal nuclear energy regulators to launch an investigation into what it claims are “newly identified flaws” in Westinghouse’s advanced reactor design, the AP1000. During a teleconference releasing a report on the subject, participants urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend license reviews of proposed AP1000 reactors. In its news release, even the groups making these allegations provide conflicting information on its findings. In one instance, the groups cite “dozens of corrosion holes” at reactor vessels and in another says that eight holes have been documented. In all cases, there is another containment mechanism that would provide a barrier to radiation release. Below, we examine why these claims are unwarranted and why the AP1000 design certification process should continue as designated by the NRC. Myth: In the AP1000 reactor design, the gap between the shield bu...
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