Clean Energy Insight - Moving Energy Forward

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The World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) announced their annual Nuclear Excellence Awards today at the conclusion of their eleventh Biennial General Meeting held in Shenzhen, China.

Susan Reilly Landahl, Chief Operation Officer of Exelon Nuclear and member of NA-YGN’s Executive Advisory Committee was one of the eight recipients this year. The Nuclear Excellence awards identify individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to excellence in the operation of nuclear power plants or infrastructure that supports their operation.

NA-YGN would like to congratulate Susan on her well-deserved award. “She has long been a strong proponent of promoting diversity within the nuclear industry,” NA-YGN Professional Development Chair Erin West said. “NA-YGN is grateful for her generous support and is glad to see her recognized by her peers for her efforts.”

Susan was recognized for her relentless pursuit of excellence, wide variety of key positions in Exelon’s fleet and her significant contribution as a mentor and role model to others in the industry, including through organizations such as U.S. Women in Nuclear and North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NA-YGN).

The NA-YGN Executive Advisory Council provides guidance to the NA-YGN Board of Directors. WANO established the Nuclear Excellence Awards in 2003.

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Nuclear Misinformation

In the wake of the earthquake in Japan and the resulting accident at the Fukushima power plant, misinformation and fear-mongering about nuclear energy, which has always been present, has really been soaring. Reports of radiation plumes hitting the Pacific coast of the United States or milk with high radiations levels invaded the news and soon people everywhere were discussing the best sources of iodine pills to combat radiation sickness. It may be understandable, given a generation who grew up in the shadow of the Cold War, with the constant thought of helplessly hiding under a desk when the bomb sirens went off.

How can we prevent future generations from living with this kind of fear? Better nuclear education from elementary schools to online college classes is the necessary place to start. Nuclear energy has been widely misunderstood practically since it first came into being. With public schools educating students on the actual workings of a power plant and providing a better understanding of the science behind nuclear energy and radiation, we could be raising informed kids who are less likely to panic and better able to intelligently assess the merits of nuclear power.

Part of the challenge of educating students lies in educating the educators. After all, most teachers today are either from the Cold War generation themselves or are children of that generation, raised with a fear of nuclear energy and radiation poisoning. Like anyone else, teachers aren’t immune to misinformation and misunderstanding. However, they are in the unique position of having strong influence on what information gets passed down to the next generation.

One program designed to educate the educators is currently taking place outside of Chicago, at the Braidfield Nuclear Generation Station. NA-YGN’s Nuke 101 is intended to teach middle and high school instructors about nuclear power, including learning how power plants work, how nuclear power is generated, and the benefits of nuclear energy as a clean and renewable source of electricity. This kind of teacher education is needed nationwide, and even internationally.

To make nuclear education more personal, teachers near power plants can contact them to make arrangements for the students to get a tour, then build an entire unit on nuclear power around the visit. Some topics that would be appropriate to include are:

What is Radiation?

Students can look at measurements of radiation, such as microsieverts and millirems, and compare them to common everyday sources of radiation such as x-rays, CT scans, and even normal background radiation. This can then be compared to dangerous doses of radiation, allowing students to critically analyze information provided by news programs and other media.

How is Radiation Used?

By exploring uses of radiation in science, medicine, and other industries, and discussing what happens when radiation reaches dangerous levels, students can learn to perform risk-benefit analyses and apply them to all areas of their lives. For instance, many students are probably familiar with the concept of radiation therapy as a medical treatment and may even know someone who went through the process. A better understanding of how radiation therapy works can help students understand the positive effects that radiation can have on our lives.

How does a Nuclear Reactor Work?

If taking a tour of a power plant isn’t a possibility, students can take a virtual power plant tour and then discuss the process of the production of energy in different types of reactors. Additionally, they can discuss safety regulations and how they’re enforced.

What Happens to Radioactive Waste?

Most people are aware that radioactive waste is produced by a power plant, but have no idea what happens to it next. Students can consider the actual laws and regulations dealing with the delivery of radioactive materials, their handling and storage, and learn about the regulations in place and the agencies involved.

Hands-on activities to cement concepts and give students a real feel for nuclear science and technology could include learning to handle and read a Geiger counter and calculating their own personal yearly dose of radiation. Students will probably be surprised to find out how much radiation they’re actually exposed to every year, and that perspective will help put highly publicized radiation leaks into perspective.

Additionally, teachers can have students look for radiation in the news. After listening carefully to a story, they should research the incident and find out about the actual amount of radiation released into the atmosphere. They might be surprised at how much many reports are blown out of proportion in the interest of titillating viewers and getting ratings.

The key to fighting back against sensationalism is education. If nothing else, once students understand the concept of actually measuring radiation and can relate those measurements to everyday sources of radiation, they’ll no longer live in fear of nuclear energy and the promise it holds. Being able to think critically about nuclear power will staunch unfounded panic and the spread of nuclear misinformation.

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The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has posted a new section to their website dedicated to inform the 112th US Congress about nuclear energy and electricity:

http://www.nei.org/112thcongress/

This new section condenses the main talking points about nuclear energy, such as economic benefits, with which members of congress might be concerned.  In addition to providing a basic education for congress, the information in this section can be used by proponents of nuclear, like you and me, to inform the public about nuclear in a clear and concise way. I encourage everyone to explore the new section of this site to brush up on the main talking points surrounding nuclear energy.

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Local educators learn how a nuclear power control room works.

Exelon employees from the Braidwood Nuclear Generation Station outside of Chicago, Illinois recently changed the game when it comes to nuclear power advocacy in the United States.  Led by their North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NA-YGN) Chapter, Braidwood Generating Station has started a nuclear power education program called Nuke 101.

The program aims to educate 6th-12th grade teachers on nuclear power, in hopes that they will pass this knowledge on to their students–creating a more informed and educated generation of Americans when it comes to nuclear power.

Let’s hope that the Braidwood Generating Station NA-YGN Chapter continues this program into the future, and other NA-YGN Chapters can follow.  This is undoubtedly important to America’s nuclear energy future.

Teachers learn about nuclear energy during Nuke 101

By Jo Ann Hustis

BRACEVILLE – For Dr. Charles Birch, the nation’s pilot Nuke 101 program Saturday was almost a walk back in time with his late father.

“He was a maintenance electrician 41 years for Wisconsin Power, and so, as a kid, I had the chance to understand electrical power,” said Birch, instructor at Coal City Intermediate School and one of 16 area junior high and high school teachers participating in the instructional session, hands-on lab, and tour of the immensely secure Braidwood Generating Station.

“At that time, nuclear just began to become part of Wisconsin Electric Power, so this was a very personal experience for me. I couldn’t help but think of my father walking at my shoulder and saying, ‘Hey, this is something.’”

A first-of-its-kind educational opportunity in the U.S., Nuke 101 was the inspiration of Braidwood Station engineer Morgan Davis and the North American Young Generation in Nuclear chapter at the plant.

“Educating the educators,” station spokesman Neal Miller noted prior to taking the teachers through the giant concrete, two-unit generating station.

“The first time we’ve ever done this. We do plan on taking it to another level, learning what we can here to improve for the next time, and continue building on it.”

The pilot program’s goal was to teach teachers about nuclear power so they can take the information back to their students.

Most of the young engineering professionals at Braidwood Station started in nuclear science by chance. Davis, herself, was introduced to it by someone who invited her to tour a generating station.

“This is an opportunity for teachers to take the wealth of information (from Nuke 101) and pass it on to the younger generation,” Braidwood Site Vice President Amir Shahkarami noted.

Fran Ogden has taught chemistry classes at Seneca Township High School for many years.

All this time, she has lived with La Salle Generating Station in Brookfield Township practically in her backyard, but never visited a nuclear plant until Saturday.

“It’s something I wanted to learn about as much as I could to relay to the students,” Ogden said of her participation in Nuke 101. “We always try to help the students find a career, and this is definitely an area many of them could get involved in.”

When nuclear power came on the scene in 1972, there were 42 generating stations operating across the nation.

Today in the United States, there are 104 operating nuclear plants, supplying 20 percent of the power needed in the country, Shahkarami noted during the instructional portion of the session.

Worldwide, today, there are 439 operating nuclear reactors. Eighty percent of the power used in France is generated by nuclear plants.

Also, another 54 nuclear generating stations are under construction throughout the world today. South Korea alone has 20 operating nuclear plants and another six under construction. Taiwan is currently constructing one nuclear plant. The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Japan are considering building nuclear plants.

China is building from 12 to 15 reactors into each of its nuclear plants.

“That’s massive,” Shahkarami said.

The maximum number of reactors in any nuclear station in the U.S. is two.

In the 1970s, the U.S. had the technology for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, but not today.

“France, Germany and Russia do have the technology,” Shahkarami noted. “They got it from us. But President Jimmy Carter said, in 1977, no to processing nuclear fuel.”

The United States’ biggest nuclear accident, at Three Mile Island, occurred in 1977. Six years later, the nation canceled construction of the 259 generating stations that were on order.

“Because they couldn’t control the cost of construction,” he said.

China is building a dozen nuclear plants at a time today. However, with the financial crisis in the United States , it doesn’t make sense to build nuclear plants here, Shahkarami said.

“But, how long can we depend on foreign power? We haven’t built a nuclear plant in the U.S. since the early 1980s,” he said.

The back end of the nuclear generating process is recycling. The country is looking for new ways of operating this process. Meanwhile, the nation is storing its spent fuel.

“Sometime, someone will come along with a viable idea for reprocessing spent fuel,” Shahkarami said.

In the United States today, there are two kinds of reactors – pressure and boiling water.

Fast-breeder reactors are not in use in the U.S. today. These are fast-neutron reactors designed to breed fuel by producing more fissile material than they consume.

“They are the type that eventually will reprocess nuclear fuel,” Shahkarami said.

He stressed the importance of spent nuclear fuel not getting into the hands of the unauthorized, especially terrorists.

“Because they can extract plutonium from it, and that’s what makes missiles,” he said.

Braidwood Station currently stores its nuclear waste in deepwater pools within the plant, and in dry cask storage on station property.

“Eventually the dry casks have to go somewhere,” Shahkarami said. “The latest reprocessing techniques eventually take the uranium and plutonium and burn them in the reactors.”

At the conclusion of the tour, Dr. Birch, a social science teacher, noted the Nuke 101 class should definitely be an annual offering to educators.

“We in education are educators for all disciplines, so I would want this to continue, and include grades K through 12,” he said.

“We have to recognize we teach students first, and then, in particular cases, a subject area. It’s a very important experience I think ought to be continued.”

Teachers in Nuke 101 learn that radiation is all around you - even in bananas