NEI Nuclear Notes

While the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is primarily known for its oversight functions, the agency, together with the Department of Energy, is also responsible for awarding a wide array of academic scholarships, fellowships and other institutional support that's designed to promote the development of the nuclear work force and educational advancement – something that also helps deliver a reliable flow of highly skilled employees to government agencies, national laboratories, universities and industry. We've recently been informed of the 2012 award winners in four areas, and wanted to share their names  with our readers. Please note that all program descriptions come from NRC.gov . Nuclear Education Grant Programs - Curricula Development As part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under the Nuclear Education Grant Program will begin funding up to $4.7 million in grants and other vehicles to institutions of higher education to ...

Over the Holiday weekend here in the U.S., the news wires were humming with reports that Blue Fin tuna caught off the coast of California had been found to contain radioactive cesium from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Before anyone thinks twice about eating tuna, there are a couple of facts that you should keep in mind. As I wrote previously at our SafetyFirst microsite : The report by the National Academy of Sciences did not conclude that there was any food safety or public health concern related to radiation from tuna of any kind. The trace amount of radiation found in the tuna is less than radiation that is found naturally in the Pacific Ocean from Potassium 40. The species of tuna mentioned in the report, Blue Fin tuna, is not used in the canned tuna sold in your local supermarket. In fact, Blue Fin is only served as sushi, and most Americans don't eat much of it at all. According to the National Fisheries Institute , per capita, Americans only...

Who said it? “It’s a great pleasure to be back here again and a real pleasure to open something that’s going to have serious and important consequences in the years to come. “Something is going to have to be done to supply the huge increase in the amount of energy we need. There has to be some part of the energy sector delivering nuclear. It’s not just about the UK. Nuclear will be used globally.” Okay, we know he’s British and he gets invited to open things – in this case the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre. Give up ? The Duke of York said that it would make a significant difference to Britain in the future if it didn’t build up its own civil nuclear manufacturing capabilities. “We must deliver at least some part of the supply chain. The ability to harness the knowledge, skills and innovation of the UK in a facility like this is hugely important,” he said. Prince Andrew is currently fourth in line to the throne of England and is probably better...

The British Green Party tried something interesting this weekend: About 200 anti-GM activists have protested outside an agricultural research centre where a genetically modified wheat crop is being grown . Scientists at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, had been concerned that members of campaigning group Take The Flour Back would attempt to destroy GM wheat crops. GM in this case means genetically-modified. The wheat in Harpenden has been modified with a gene from the peppermint plant in the hope that the wheat can better resist aphids. The test crop is intended to test that idea. The Guardian provides some of the questions the scientists want to answer : Does a crop that produces a steady waft of aphid alarm pheromone repel the pests? Or are the insects indifferent if the chemical is not released in bursts, as happens in nature? Does the pheromone attract aphid predators to the crops, as suspected? Can the wheat be grown with less pesticide? What are...

As promised, we've got additional content from NEA 2012 that I wanted to share with you before we started the Holiday weekend. NEI's Anna Gomez was our go to person behind the lens for the entire show, and we're in the midst of compiling photos and writing cutlines for our NEA 2012 Flickr Album even as I type this entry. Please feel free to visit to take a look at the album, filled with images of conference participants, especially the many award winners who were able to join us this week in Charlotte. One of my favorite moments was getting to see Dr. Aris Candris, formerly of Westinghouse, receive the Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award . Here's a shot of Dr. Candris as he addresses the conference just moments after receiving the award. More soon.

After a whirlwind three days in Charlotte at NEA 2012, I'm back in Washington. And while I'm done unpacking my suitcase at home, we're not done unpacking all of the content we created during the conference. One of the highlights of the conference had to be a roundtable discussion on industry safety and Fukushima that was moderated by NEI's Chief Nuclear Officer Tony Pietrangelo. Joining Tony were Chip Pardee of Exelon , David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Bill Borchardt of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission . Luckily, we captured the entire discussion on video, and will be sharing it with you as soon as we're able to get the clip processed and uploaded to our YouTube Channel . In addition, we'll also be combing the questions that were submitted for the session that our panelists weren't able to answer due to time constraints. Among my favorite moments from the conference had to be getting to see the pride and joy on the faces o...

We don’t see a lot of polls on nuclear energy taken in individual states. Support nationally is usually above 50 and sometimes 60 percent in most big polls taken about it ( this Gallup poll from March has it at 57 percent). But the states? Well, The Pennsylvania Energy Alliance has tried a poll and found that nearly 90 percent “believe the use of nuclear power is an important part of meeting the United States' electricity needs.” That’s as close to a consensus as you can get . "It's quite apparent that people recognize the benefits of nuclear power as a clean, safe and reliable source of energy," said PA Energy Alliance Executive Director Melissa Grimm. "The state needs to have a reliable source of electricity, especially now with summer approaching and our energy demands increasing."  I’m not enough of a poll wonk to know how to determine the value of a poll taken by an interested party – but I am enough of one to know what to look for. The polls...