From Beaver Valley to NEI: Answering the Why Nuclear Question

In my role as a Project Engineer in Security at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), I deal with questions every day. These questions involve language in the code of federal regulations, inspection findings, operational experience, etc. However, whether it is friends, coworkers, and/or industry peers, the most common question I have to answer is “Why nuclear?”

AJ Clore

Six years ago I wouldn’t have been able to answer that question. That is when I first started as an Armed Security Officer at FirstEnergy’s Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station. Beaver Valley is a two unit site located in Shippingport, PA, which is about an hour northwest of Pittsburgh, PA. When I was hired in 2009 by Securitas, I was a rookie in the nuclear arena. I was aware of what nuclear energy was, but knew nothing about how a plant operated or the importance of nuclear.

The four and a half years I spent at Beaver Valley taught me the importance of protecting the health and safety of the public, as well as why it is important to understand how a plant operates and the equipment involved. It was during this time that I began to take a keen interest in nuclear energy. I found myself paying more attention to politics, researching and asking questions to individuals on site (e.g., outage workers, maintenance, operators and radiation protection technicians). As a security officer I got to know a lot of people at the plant.

Fast forward to 2013, I was privileged enough to bring my interest and experience to NEI. At NEI, I have learned the importance and value of nuclear energy, not only to the United States, but to the world.

Nuclear security is managed by NEI’s Nuclear Generation Division. Within our security section, I handle a multitude of different projects. My primary tasks include planning/developing agendas and managing NEI's annual Force-on-Force Workshop and National Nuclear Security Conference (NNSC). I also manage multiple task force projects related to security including security frequently asked questions, decommissioning, regulatory documents, and Force-on-Force. I work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on a daily basis on all of the aforementioned topics, as well as the Department of Homeland Security in matters related to nuclear security.

I thoroughly enjoy the work I do. Being at NEI allows me to interact with peers in different divisions, all striving for the same goals. The experience sharing and networking with nuclear industry subject matter experts in security on different projects has only added to my interest and fascination with nuclear that started in 2009.

One goal that NEI constantly strives for is innovation. In security, we look for innovation possibilities in everything that we do: ways to reduce burden on the nuclear industry, ways to change certain processes and procedures, and ways to promote safety and security in nuclear energy. In my role, I look with a fresh set of eyes at all security-related inspections a nuclear site has to have over the course of a year. We have had recent successes that have relieved some burden on the industry and have also been a cost savings. We continue to push forward to be innovative with our industry peers, the NRC and the public.

I will close by answering the most popular question I have been asked; “Why nuclear?”

I have spent almost 7 years in this industry and continue to learn every day. In that time I have learned the importance of nuclear, its beneficial uses, environmental benefits, reliability, safety and the role that nuclear plays in the energy arena. These are all answers that I have used to answer that question. My favorite answer to give is simple – “it is fascinating and interesting.”

The above post was submitted to us by NEI’s AJ Clore for the Powered by Our People promotion. It aims to showcase the best and the brightest in the nation’s nuclear energy workforce.