Sen. Lindsey Graham on Nuclear Energy

"I have a lot of faith in the nuclear industry, and I feel safe living five miles away from a nuclear power plant," [Sen. Lindsey] Graham [R-S.C.] said of the Oconee Nuclear Station run by Duke Energy Corp.

Graham said it would be ill-advised to stop building nuclear power plants, noting that 20 percent of U.S. power comes from nuclear sources.

Sen. Graham’s comments (and there’s more – click the link for that) are well appreciated and also rather remarkable. I’ve seen a number of politicians voice support for nuclear energy when it would be just as easy – easier, really – to abandon it in light of Japan.

The recognition that events at Fukushima Daiichi were truly extraordinary and that the American industry is quickly, effectively and honestly responding to it and dealing with the domestic implications seems quite widespread.

Still, this was a nice report to run into. Does the heart good.

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Fluor Invests in NuScale

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Wednesday Update

From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...

NEI Nuclear Notes

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