Our thoughts are with friends and colleagues at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) after Friday’s news of the shutdown and eventual decommissioning of the two units in southern California (link to article). NAYGN has reached out to our members located at SONGS and we will continue to support them in whatever way we can. We look forward to learning from how the technical, regulatory, political and public perceptions surrounding this plant contributed to the closure. Since we have members that represent all sides of this issue, we do not officially take sides in the disagreement.

Even though it is disappointing that another nuclear plant has been closed, it is too early to write off nuclear energy. Nuclear closures only make up a small percentage of the total megawatts taken out of operation in the past four years in the USA. It is also important to remember that the USA still has the most nuclear units in operation for a single country with 100 commercial reactors.

Though we grieve the closure of SONGS, we live and work in a very exciting time for nuclear energy where we have a unique opportunity to stress the need for new nuclear. As NAYGN members we are all advocates of nuclear energy and support cutting edge carbon free new nuclear builds as a solution to rising energy demands across North America. We encourage you to support new nuclear wherever possible – your voice is so important!

And the same goes for diversity in nuclear science. Our members are not only vested in the energy community but the research and development of everything from small modular reactors to the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) project in South Carolina. This particular project I find interesting given the political role of its function. The facility will combine plutonium from weapons with conventionally-mined uranium to make a commercially viable MOX fuel. When up and running, the facility will be able to convert at least 34 metric tons (at minimum 17,000 weapons) of the surplus weapons-grade plutonium into MOX fuel for use in commercial power reactors in the United States. There are other enormous grassroots organizations out there, such as Global Zero, concerned with and focused on completely eliminating nuclear weapons. And the MOX science is waiting to support that initiative.

Additionally, MFFF is an investment in South Carolina, driving jobs and rebuilding the supply chain. The facility is more than halfway through construction. There have been over 19,000 tons of rebar installed, over 117,000 cubic yards of concrete poured, and more than ten million man hours without accident. The site currently employs approximately 2,800 personnel, with more than a third of them continuing with permanent employment once construction is complete. There are also approximately 2,000 additional personnel employed by MOX suppliers in 42 states nationwide. In total, approximately 14,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs are created annually by this national security project.

MFFF is the type of project NAYGNers can support because it is an investment in our future; to secure our domestic use of fuel and supporting our commitment to disarming. With Washington, DC in a constant state of volatility, Sequestration and looming budget cuts, I hope MFFF is a project that remains supported so we can continue to lead the innovation charge.

2012 NAYGN Drawing Contest Winner – Kailey – Submitted by the Fermi Nuclear Station NAYGN Chapter

Kailey did a great job and won by an overwhelming majority of the approximately 4800 votes received on the Clean Energy Insight website! Congrats to the Fermi 2 NAYGN Chapter for hosting her contest as well.

Second place goes to Isabelle from Tenie Holmes Elementary in Bay City Texas, and Third place to Lillian from Millville Elementary School in Millville, PA – who both did an awesome job representing Nuclear Energy!

The top 5 finalists were showcased at the American Nuclear Society Winter Conference in San Diego, CA, and received numerous votes and praises from members across the board.

The 2012 NAYGN Drawing Contest at the ANS Winter Conference in San Diego, CA in November.

Thank you to everyone who helped NAYGN represent the 14th Annual Drawing Contest at ANS Winter Meeting 2012!

Thank you to everyone who helped out from the 19 different NAYGN chapters, and to all who participated in the 38 contests – and especially to the nearly 1500 kids who submitted drawings this year! “Roddy Nuclear Builds Tomorrow” with an emphasis on new plant construction was a great theme this year in particular as we all look forward to the new and exciting nuclear growth efforts underway across North America.

Thanks again for everyone’s participation – please stay tuned on the CEI & NAYGN websites for pictures and posts in the next month as the winners and their schools receive their prizes!

Here is a link to the original Drawing Contest voting announcement post!

Adam Lineberry, NAYGN Member

For the past few months, I have been working as a summer intern for Bechtel Power on the Generation mPower project. During the school year, I spend my time as a graduate student pursuing a Master’s degree in civil/structural engineering at Georgia Tech.  As the summer and my internship draw to an end, I think back to everything I’ve learned and the amazing experiences I’ve had in the last three months.  Bechtel has proven to be a company dedicated to developing its future talent, and the internship program I’ve been a part of this summer has included several highly-involved events, such as plant visits and Executive panels, geared toward educating the interns on topics such as Bechtel’s culture and values, career paths, and the power generation industry.

For this summer, I was assigned to the Generation mPower project: a joint venture between Babcock & Wilcox mPower and Bechtel Power.  The Generation mPower Plant is truly a first-of-a-kind small modular reactor (SMR) design.  The cutting-edge SMR technology shows promise as the future of the nuclear industry by offering many advantages over traditional nuclear energy facilities, such as low start-up costs, quick construction time, and scalability to meet power generation needs.  Being part of such a large team of individuals, all well-respected in their fields and dedicated on a daily basis to developing this new technology, has been a fun and enriching experience.

In addition to my work as a civil engineer on mPower, I became very involved with our local NAYGN Chapter (Bechtel – Frederick).  I was fortunate enough to attend the NAYGN Atlantic Regional Conference, which was hosted by our very own Bechtel Chapter.  The conference was a great opportunity to hear from industry leaders about the current state of the nuclear industry, the challenges it faces, and how it plans to overcome these challenges.  The conference was also a great venue to meet and network with professionals working for operators, vendors, and utilities.  I went into the conference not knowing what to expect, and I left with the general feeling of being “plugged into” the current affairs of the nuclear industry.

The insight I’ve gained throughout the course of my internship leads me to the conclusion that nuclear will grow and prosper in future years as it continues to serve the world as the only clean, reliable, and low-cost energy source.  I’m looking forward to joining the ranks of the nuclear industry, and I’m excited about the career opportunities it has to offer. Here are some snapshots of the first-of-a-kind Generation mPower plant I have had a part in designing over the past few months – I hope the pictures are as exciting to those not working on the project as much as they are to us working on it every day!

Cutaway view of the mPower facility. Notice that most of the plant is located below ground.

Layout of the mPower plant. The design is underground, in comparison to typical above-grade nuclear energy facilities. Notice the absence of containment domes and cooling towers.

Cutaway of the mPower reactor. Babcock & Wilcox has developed a revolutionary reactor design which incorporates the steam generators and the reactor core within the same module.

We had an incredible number of entries with participation from 19 NAYGN chapters across North America with 38 contests and 1495 drawing submissions! This years’ theme of “Roddy Nuclear Builds Tomorrow” – placed an emphasis on the importance of new plant construction for the future of nuclear and growing energy demands.

Here are our top 5 drawings (in no particular order):

Kailey / Fermi 2 Chapter,

Kailey / Fermi 2 Chapter

Jaxon / Shaw, Stone & Webster Chapter,

Jaxon / Shaw, Stone & Webster Chapter

Lillian / PPL Susquehanna Chapter,

Lillian / PPL Susquehanna Chapter

Isabelle / South Texas Project Chapter,

Isabelle / South Texas Project Chapter

and Malia / Westinghouse – Pittsburgh Chapter.

Malia / Westinghouse – Pittsburgh Chapter

The top 5 drawings will be showcased at the 2012 ANS Conference in San Diego, CA, November 11-15, 2012, and winners will be announced by 12/1/12!

Thank you to all who participated – vote now for your favorite!

13th Annual Contest Winning Submission – Giovanni

The 14^th Annual NAYGN Drawing Contest is here!  NAYGN is hoping to build on the continuing success of the contest after last year’s 13th Annual Contest.

This years’ theme is “Roddy Nuclear Builds Tomorrow” – with an emphasis on the importance of new plant construction for the future of nuclear and growing energy demands.

All drawing contest materials are available on the NAYGN website, PI committee page.

Each chapter will need to host their area contests and submit their top ten drawings by 10-26-2012 electronically to Laura DiPinto.  Voting will again take place online this year via Clean Energy Insight.

The top 5 drawings will be showcased at the 2012 ANS Conference in San Diego, CA November 11-15 2012, and winners will be announced by 12-1-2012!

Please contact Laura DiPinto with any questions. Get Excited!

I recently had the privilege of participating in the Nuclear Technology Workshop for Teachers in Charlotte, NC.  The all-day event, organized by Kristine Madden (NextEra Energy) and Dr. Stephen Harris (Savannah River National Laboratory – SRNL), was a part of the International Youth Nuclear Congress (IYNC)/ North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN) Public Information Day.  The workshop had a great turn out- about 50 area science teachers were in attendance.

The workshop was an excellent experience in collaboration, information exchange, and included nuclear professionals from all over the country.

Steve Hensel (SRNL) presented the concept of radioactivity.

Steve Hensel of Savannah River National Laboratory speaks at the event.

Suzy Baker (Director at PopAtomic Studios) served as the key-note speaker and discussed the integration of art in relating nuclear concepts, as well as the Nuclear Literacy Project.  PopAtomic Studios is focused on creating designs and public artwork that challenge commonly held fears and misconceptions about nuclear energy. The goal is to inspire everyday citizens to learn about and actively support a clean energy future with nuclear energy as the safe and most efficient alternative.

Mural by Suzanne Baker, PopAtomic Studios

Suzanne Baker, Keynote Speaker and Director of PopAtomic Studios

Adam Bingham of Duke Energy discussed computer science applications and careers at Duke.

Adam Bingham gets involved.

The workshop activities included demonstrations that the teachers could take back and demonstrate in the classroom.

Jana Thames of Southern Company explained radioactive half-life using M&M’s! Yum!

Jana Thames (on the right in purple)

Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI’s) Elizabeth McAndrew-Benavides worked with several brave teachers to act out a fission reaction using a clapping routine. Talk about making learning fun!

Elizabeth McAndrew-Benavides (far left)

Tim Rogers (3^rd from left) demonstrated the concept of radioactive atoms vs. stable atoms using the ANS marshmallow activity.

From Left are volunteers Morgan Davis, Kristine Madden, & Tim Rogers

Nicolas Hernandez, a nuclear engineer with Duke Energy, presented a session on Nuclear Power.

Nicolas Hernandez

The event wrapped up with an incredibly informative Careers Panel, organized and moderated by Suzy Baker, which highlighted the vast opportunities in the nuclear industry ranging from technical jobs like welding and construction to human resources, communications, engineering, management and research and development.   The teachers were especially surprised and excited to learn that up to 40% of the nuclear industry workforce is expected to retire within the next five years, which means more and more job opportunities in the nuclear industry as they plan their college majors and careers.

The Teacher’s Workshop was a great success.  Here is a link to the slides that were used (first 5 links listed), as well additional public outreach materials courtesy of NA-YGN: http://na-ygn.org/publicinfo/index.php?Page=docs

Many thanks to Duke Energy for hosting our workshop and their professional staff for their assistance!

LWC Purpose

The goal of a Letter Writing Campaign is to help you, citizens and members off the nuclear industry, reach out to those who are directly responsible for energy policy decisions in our economy, so that you can make a direct impact in the energy debate.

Who’s invited?

Keep it to your NAYGN members.  Half a dozen members of my NAYGN Chapter participated in our first LWC which was held in our free time–during our lunch hour.  This was the ideal size for our first Campaign.  As we learn how to run this more efficiently, we will be able to include more participants.

How it works (campaign outline)

Here’s how our campaign worked:

Meeting #1

• Safety topic
• Presentation detailing process
• Open discussion of industry issues
• Template shared

Presentation details

As shown above, a presentation was given during the first meeting of our LWC.  This presentation outlined the following details:

• Contact information
  • How to find your State-level and Federal-level Representatives
  • Fax and Email is the most effective mode of communication
• Example letter
  • A template or sample letter was shared
• Advice
  • Advice for how to write an effective letter was also shared
• Information resources
  • Resources for facts on nuclear power’s benefits was shared
• Open discussion on issues
  • An open discussion of current issues closed out the presentation

Find your Representative

We found our Representatives the following ways:

• North Carolina General Assembly – You should be able to easily search for your State’s General Assembly as well.  Be sure to find out your 9-digit zip code from the USPS here.
• US House of Representatives – Enter your 5-digit zip code.
• US Senate – Search for your Senator by entering your State.

Fax & Email

A friend who worked on Capitol Hill and actually read letters, emails, and answered phone calls at their Representative’s office recommended that the most effective way to get your message across is to fax and email your letter.  Letters can sit in a mail room for weeks, if not months.  Faxes and emails get there immediately and are easier for the Representative’s staff to process.

Pick your issue

You need to pick two or three issues to discuss in your letter.  Here are just a few ideas:

• Economic benefits
  • Jobs, jobs, jobs
  • Reliability
  • Clean & cheap energy
• Existing nuclear plants
  • License extensions for existing plants
  • Post-Fukushima examination & review
• New nuclear plants
  • New Nuclear Plants NRC certification
  • Modular reactor NRC certification
  • Recent Congressional action regarding License Approvals pending waste action
• Nuclear waste
  • Blue Ribbon Commission
  • Centralized dry-cask storage
  • Yucca Mountain

Information Resources

Here are a few sites where you can get information on these issues:

• Nuclear Energy Institute
• American Nuclear Society
• Clean Energy Insight – Fact Sheet

Advice

These bullets may seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised.  Please take them seriously.  In the age of anonymous commenting on the internet, people forget that their integrity is at stake each time they send an email, letter, or post on social media.  Be honest and truthful, your goal is to influence energy policy for the betterment of the economy and people’s well-being in your community–not to use buzzwords and exaggerated truths.

Keep the following in mind as you write your letters:

• Confirm and state in your letter that you are a constituent of the Representative you are addressing.
• Explain how nuclear energy policy affects YOU.
• Always, always, always keep it factual.
• Your goal is to Educate, Enlighten, and Empower in order for people to make logical decisions regarding energy policy.  Remember, most people working in government offices don’t have nuclear energy experience or education.  Stay away from acronyms and tech speak.
• Identify yourself as a member of NAYGN, not the company you work for.
• Be polite.  You are representing NAYGN and, most importantly, yourself.

NAYGN template

Here is a template for your own NAYGN letter:

• Sample_LWC_Letter_2012

Examples

Here are a few example letters from our first NAYGN Letter Writing Campaign.

• Letter Writing Campaign DOERING
• Letter Writing Campaign SHARPE
• Letter Writing Campaign DILLON

Send

The obvious last step in the LWC is to fax and email your letters to your representatives.

Follow-up

If you’re emboldened enough, follow-up your letter with a call to the Representative’s office.  Have an honest conversation with the Representative’s employee.  Don’t speak directly from talking points or a fact sheet.  Let them know how nuclear energy policy affects you, your family, and your community.

Do it again!

After your first Letter Writing Campaign, get your team together and talk through some lessons learned on what you can do better the next time around.  Once you’ve planned your changes to your program, have another one in a few months.  My Chapter is planning to do this twice per year.  Other Chapters may be different.  Those with more involvement may be able to hold three or four per year.  Those with less involvement may only plan to do this once, and that’s okay.

Share

Share your thoughts, suggestions, experiences, etc in the comments section below!  In order for us to become a more effective organization, we need to have an open and honest conversation about our advocacy activities.

Letter Writing Campaign participants pictured L-R: Michael Bloom, Carrington Dillon, Adam Howell, Hayley Doering, Jonny Abendano, and Matt Sharpe.

Thanks,

Mike Bloom

Much as a sports franchise has a core group of players that are the heart and soul of the team local Chapters form the nucleus of the North American Young Generation in Nuclear (NAYGN). Since the organization’s inception, local chapters have conducted nearly 340,000 hours of activities in support of their members.

“It is great to see what an impact the local chapters have made,” said Nicole Faulk, the founding leader of the Southern Nuclear Local chapters and founding NA-YGN member. “When I kicked-off the first chapters, I was hoping we could make a difference locally and create excitement in among our young professionals.”

The first NAYGN chapters were established in 2000 by Southern Nuclear and Dominion. They were created to help counter years of sluggish hiring as the industry recognized the overwhelming need to reinvigorate enthusiasm amongst young professionals. Without renewed interest, the odds were against the industry in maintaining a top-flight workforce available to run the plants through a 20 year license extension.

“It wasn’t that long ago, but things were different back then. We were taking a gamble entering the industry. Many told us that we’d spend our entire careers decommissioning plants because no one believed a nuclear renaissance was possible,” said Faulk. “It has sure turned out quite differently and I think we had a part in that.”

Many of the early local chapters were established because a group of young professionals were passionate about sharing their enthusiasm for nuclear with others. The organization had some early successes when NAYGN members began attending public meetings and debunking myths about nuclear energy.

NAYGN knew having engaged local chapters was a way to differentiate the organization from other professional societies. The organization set a goal to have 50 local chapters by the annual conference in 2008.

“I knew we needed to expand the organization away from just the continental organizers if we were going to have an impact,” said David Pointer, past president of NAYGN.

One of the first activities NAYGN organized was the poster contest. Local chapter members educate elementary students about the benefits of nuclear science and technology. Since its inception in 1999, tens of thousands of students have participated in this program.

Significant effort was put into the development of new chapters beginning in 2006 in order to meet the 50 chapter goal. One hurdle the organization had to overcome was that some industry executives were hesitant to support NAYGN because they didn’t see the value of having a new professional society. To make its case, NAYGN created an innovative end-of-year metrics report to collect individual chapter activity information.

“Response to our first year’s report of end of year metrics was a surprise. Even though we only reported 12,500 hours of activity, industry executives were impressed because this was more effort than any other professional society could document,” Pointer added.

NAYGN reached its 50-chapter goal in 2008 and realized it needed a larger infrastructure to support the growing number of local chapters. Consequently, the chapters were split up into regions and leads were appointed to help organize regional activities.

This infrastructure came just in time since an additional 31 chapters joined NAYGN in 2009. With a total of 81 local chapters, this was the greatest single year of growth for the organization.

“I was the Carolina’s regional Lead during this time of expansion,” said Adam Strange. “And it seemed like every week a new chapter was announced.”

As with any venture there are successes and failures. Not all local chapters have been successful, with seven closing due to a lack of sustainable interest. Two of these chapters reorganized and were able to kick-off a second time, and NAYGN achieved a significant milestone when the 100th chapter was established at Edgen Murray on June 5, 2012.

“When I came to Edgen Murray I realized my colleagues could use the opportunities NAYGN provides. I was excited to learn that this will be the centennial chapter of such a great organization,” Strange said.

NAYGN was established in 1999. The group now has 100 local chapters and over 9,000 members.

Elizabeth is the Past President of North American Young Generation in Nuclear.