NEI Nuclear Notes

At least that's what scientists at the University of Gothenburg may have determined. Science Daily has the story : Ultra-dense deuterium is a million times more dense than frozen deuterium, making it relatively easy to create a nuclear fusion reaction using high-power pulses of laser light. “If we can produce large quantities of ultra-dense deuterium, the fusion process may become the energy source of the future. And it may become available much earlier than we have thought possible”, says Leif Holmlid. “Further, we believe that we can design the deuterium fusion such that it produces only helium and hydrogen as its products, both of which are completely non-hazardous. It will not be necessary to deal with the highly radioactive tritium that is planned for use in other types of future fusion reactors, and this means that laser-driven nuclear fusion as we envisage it will be both more sustainable and less damaging to the environment than other methods that are being developed.” And...

Chris Gent over at the Conway blog shared his thoughts on his tour of the Crystal River 3 nuclear plant in Florida: The energy complex is the second largest power-producing facility in the nation and the largest east of the Mississippi. The sprawling facility covers 4,700 acres and generates nearly 3,200 megawatts of electricity. One megawatt serves approximately 800 homes so we’re talking about a plant output that serves nearly 2.6 million homes! The complex is comprised of four coal-fired units and one nuclear. These units came online in 1966 (Unit 1), 1969 (Unit 2), 1977 (Unit 3), 1982 (Unit 4) and 1984 (Unit 5). Before I begin my overview of the tour, let me tell you that security at the facility is beyond intense. I’ve visited the U.S. Capitol and the White House and the security there is elementary compared to what it takes to enter this complex. ... Because the U.S. doesn’t permit the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel, nuclear plants are required to store their entire supply of ...

A couple of folks are picking up on that list from Spiked that David Bradish posted a link to a few weeks back. Click here , here and here .

From the Times-Leader (Penn.): Luis Ramos, who has been the public face of the Susquehanna nuclear plant since 2004, died Tuesday when his 1997 Hyundai Accent swerved off Interstate 80 and onto the median in Foster Township then struck a tree. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which occurred at about 7:30 p.m., according to state police at Hazleton. The 57-year-old Puerto Rico native had been working for PPL Corp. since 1973, in positions that dealt with the public at the corporation’s Allentown headquarters. When the public-relations manager position opened up at the nuclear plant in Salem Township, Ramos moved to Shickshinny. He was tailor-made for the position, according to Dan McCarthy, the company’s director of corporate communications, because he understood the contentious nature of the nuclear industry. “The thing that was great about Lou was he respected people, so he respected people’s opinions even if they disagreed with him. … He wasn’t the kind of a guy ...

Over at Tech Central Station, Kenneth Green is taking a look at the positions on climate change and carbon emissions among the presidential candidates . Curiously, the words "nuclear energy" appear nowhere in the text.

For the most part, we concentrate on the news coming out of the commercial nuclear energy industry, but there's an incredibly important story affecting nuclear medicine taking place right now in Canada. Click here and here for coverage from We Support Lee on the events at the National Universal Research reactor at Chalk River. For a basic overview of the medical and research applications of nuclear energy, click here .

From time to time, we're going to be listing job openings at NEI here at NEI Nuclear Notes. Our first listing is for a project management position in NEI's Engineering Department: The Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI) Engineering Department has an immediate opening for a Project Manager (PM). The initial assignment will be to manage the regulatory interface on fire protection issues. Responsibilities will change over time in response to regulatory pressure, industry priorities, and personal experience and interests. Minimum requirements for the position are an engineering degree and at least 7 years experience in the nuclear industry. Other important attributes include nuclear plant systems experience, project manager experience and familiarity with fire protection related regulations. NEI works issues through a committee structure where the assigned PM manages the activities of a committee of industry experts who meet regularly with the NRC to achieve resolution of generic...

Details off the wire .