The Lives at the Plants

A little while ago, we noted a effort by a West Virginia artist to put force behind the work and lives of coal miners through photography, a very worthy project. Less directly aesthetic in nature but interesting in its own way is the I Am Vermont Yankee project, which aims to show nuclear workers in a similar light.

This is the kind of thing that really brings home the fact that nuclear energy has benefits well beyond the economic - clean, inexpensive electricity and well paid jobs among them. In so far as work is central to a person's self-image, then showing those self-images - as this site does via a series of videos - demonstrates that the nuclear industry is as vibrant a point of pride for its workers as coal mining. We can't argue with it.

A PR pitch? Sure, to an extent, maybe. But we like it better then the singing plant workers we've seen in various TV ads - we reall like its simplicity and unadorned quality. Props to Vermont Yankee.

(And you can leave messages of support. If you're a Vermonter - or even not - we bet the folks there love well wishes.)
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The Korea Times lets us all know:

Nuclear power generation is among the industries with the most promising prospects for the future, a private institute said in a recent report.

Well, private institutes say all kinds of things. Who's this now?

As global necessity rises for a stable supply of energy ― and as climate change continues to be an issue of utmost importance ― nuclear power will emerge as a leading energy source, according to the POSCO Research Institute (POSRI) said.

POSRI is a South Korean think tank with a special brief on management issues, but a look at their activities show it to cast its net over issues widely. The English site doesn't expand much on the news story - perhaps the Korean site has some more info.

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Ukrainian artist Alexey Kovynev has published a book of cartoons called The Nuclear Power Plant in Cartoons. He introduces it this way:

There are many nuclear power plants in the world. Every one has a nuclear reactor and a turbine with a generator. Personnel operate all of this equipment, and managers direct all this personnel. Without fail, there is a control room from where, as if from the heavens, everything may be seen. There is radiation which, for some reason, creates fear in many people. At each plant, workers change shifts, equipment breaks and is repaired, and emergency situations begin and end. People, without whom the plant would be a huge lifeless hulk, spend a big part of their life here and cannot imagine another life for themselves [NNN Note: See I Am Vermont Yankee]. In general, the NPP is an entire world where something is always happening. One can write many books about this world, but something will always be missed in this writing. Because not everything can be written, some things should be drawn...

You can see the drawings here, though without their text - which makes some of them tough to decipher. Kovynev is travelling around with an exhibition, though he hasn't crossed the ocean yet. It'd certainly be nice to see them up close, especially if Kovynev provides a lecture or two.

Erica Moore is a System Engineer at Vermont Yankee and is a relatively new addition to the team. Erica started her energy career in the coal business, but soon had the opportunity to work in the nuclear power business at a facility in Florida. - From I Am Vermont Yankee.

Activists' Claims Distort Facts about Advanced Reactor Design

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...

What Happens During a Refueling Outage?

You may have noticed over the past few weeks that a number of nuclear plants are shut down for refueling outages or are resuming operations after just returning from one. This type of routine outage usually occurs in the spring or fall when electricity demand is low so that nuclear reactors can replace about one-third of the spent fuel rods with new fuel and conduct other routine maintenance and repairs at the plant. To get a better sense of how refueling works at a nuclear energy facility, I spoke with Marcus Nichol, NEI’s senior project manager for used fuel storage and transportation, and asked him to explain the basics. Why does a nuclear plant need to replace one-third of its fuel? Nichol: The main purpose of a refueling outage is to replace older fuel that is depleted—meaning it can no longer efficiently produce energy from nuclear fission reactions—with new fuel. This “used fuel” has typically been used in the reactor for four-and-a-half to six years before it is pe...

How Much Land Does Nuclear, Wind and Solar Really Need?

Not too long ago, we reviewed a report that looked at nuclear energy (and other energy sources) as biodiversity agents. This had to do, in part, with the amount of land a facility needs to function. Nuclear energy and fossil fuel plants use relatively little, wind farms and solar arrays quite a lot of land . Based on an objective and transparent analysis of our sustainable energy choices, we have come to the evidence-based conclusion that nuclear energy is a good option for biodiversity conservation (and society in general) and that other alternatives to fossil fuels should be subjected to the same cost–benefit analyses (in terms of biodiversity and climate outcomes, as well as sociopolitical imperatives) before accepting or dismissing them. Writer Barry Brook, who collected 75 scientists to endorse his paper, is interested in land use as it impacts flora and fauna. Biodiversity concerns do not get as much play as they might – and, when they do, it annoys many when land is withdraw...

NEI Nuclear Notes

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