Ever since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, some in the news media have promoted anti-nuclear positions. Sometimes describing such anti-nuclear groups as "environmental groups" and providing them with misplaced credibility. Three Mile Island's accident terrified many not only because of communication problems with industry and government officials, but because of frightening news reports with predictions that ultimately didn't happen.

Just days before the reactor shutdown at Three Mile Island, Columbia Pictures released "The China Syndrome". In that fictional thriller, a reporter played by Jane Fonda accidentally witnesses an "accident" at a nuclear power plant. When she tries to report the story, she finds an extensive industry cover up including dummied records. Corporate "goons" even attempt to kill those trying to expose the plant's safety problems.

These statements are made as a backdrop to report on an American Nuclear Society (ANS) article by Art Wharton posted on February 21, 2011 in the ANS Nuclear Cafe. Art is a principal project engineer at Westinghouse Electric Company LLC in the Nuclear Power Plants product line. He was writing about a gathering of ANS members (with standing-room-only attendance) interested in social media and nuclear communications during the 2011 American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting in Washington, DC. Below are excerpts from the article which can be read in its entirety here.

"....As the conversation went around the room, and people discussed their involvement in nuclear communications, a common thread held throughout: The participants felt a moral calling to advance nuclear science and technology through their work and through their communications via social media. Most participants recounted an obligation that they felt to their community or their family, including the futures of their grandchildren."

"...Some of these people have been called "industry shills" by those who oppose the continued use of nuclear science and technology for the benefit of society, implying that a pro-nuclear stance is somehow imposed upon someone by the big bad industry tycoons in charge of a vast nuclear conspiracy. The reality is I have personally met many people who chose to work in the nuclear industry because they advocated nuclear technology, not the other way around."

"...Nuclear professionals live on the same earth as everyone else, so they have a personal stake in utilizing this fascinating technology for the benefit of society, along with strong core values of safety and environmental responsibility."

"...Maybe some people can read this and think that we just provide a lot of lip service and that this is just good PR. Is it? Who pays attention to these things? Do news reporters sift through our corporate values or Society ethics or the Obligation of an Engineer before they report the news, or decide which "expert" interviewee to pay more attention to? If they did, I suspect that we'd see different words surrounding "Nuclear" in headlines." 

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on March 12, 2012, for the recently completed SRS Biomass Cogeneration Facility. Under Secretary of Energy Thomas D'Agostino joined U.S. Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) and other senior officials from the Department of Energy (DOE) along with Ameresco, a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, were at the Savannah River Site (SRS) to mark the successful operational startup of the new renewable energy fueled facility.

The 34-acre SRS Biomass Cogeneration Facility is the culmination of 30-months and more than 600,000 hours of labor. This project is also the single largest renewable Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) in the Nation's history. DOE signed onto an ESPC with Ameresco in 2009 to finance, design, construct, operate, maintain, and fuel the new biomass facility under a 20-year fixed price contract valued at $795 million.

The SRS Biomass Cogeneration Facility replaces a deteriorating and inefficient 1950s-era coal powerhouse and oil-fired boilers, and will generate an estimated $944 million in savings in energy, operation and maintenance costs over the duration of the contract. Approximately, 50 trucks a day will begin delivering wood chips to the new biomass steam and electricity generating station at the Savannah River Site, moving SRS closer to green self-sufficiency and lower costs for energy.

The project sustained and created an estimated 800 jobs, spanning the mechanical, construction, engineering, and supplier sectors. Fully operational, the plant will employ 25 fulltime jobs onsite and support the local logging community. 

The Savannah River Site (SRS) "Tank Farms" have received more than 140 million gallons of legacy high-level waste from 1954 to the present. In total, SRS had 51 underground waste storage tanks, all of which were placed into operation between 1954 and 1986.

Reducing the volumes of waste through evaporation and vitrification of waste, the "Tank Farms" currently store approximately 36 million gallons of waste in 49 tanks. Twenty-four (24) tanks at SRS do not meet secondary containment standards and are scheduled for closure; two tanks in the F-Area Tank Farm (FTF), Tank 17 and Tank 20 were closed in 1997.

These two closures mark a major milestone in stabilizing another portion of the Cold War legacy materials for SRS and the country. This distinction makes SRS home to the first two liquid radioactive waste tank operational closures in the nation.

Fifteen years later, another milestone has been reached. On March 7, 2012, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) agreed that waste removal activities for FTF Tanks 18 and 19 can cease and authorized the stabilization of the tanks and the residual contaminants under Permit #17,424-IW (click here). The next step is for the Secretary of Energy to sign the final documentation. If it is signed before the end of April, we can expect to see the stabilization (grouting) process start in May or June 2012. Following stabilization, DOE will submit a Final Report for Tanks 18 and 19 to SCDHEC with certification that the removed from service activities have been performed in accordance with all the requirements and hopefully, the next two tanks will be officially closed by the end of summer 2012, leaving us a total of 47 tanks to go. 

Back in October 2010, the SRSCRO published an Op-Ed about new strategic agreements being signed for the potential deployment of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) at the Savannah River Site (SRS).

As an update, on March 2, 2012, the Energy Department, Savannah River Site and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have entered into three separate agreements with Hyperion Power Generation Inc.; SMR, LLC, a subsidiary of Holtec International; and NuScale Power, LLC. The agreements will help these private companies obtain information on potential SMR reactor siting at Savannah River and provide a framework for developing land use and site services agreements to further these efforts. The SRSCRO looks forward to helping move this initiative forward and as the October Op-Ed noted, sees the following benefits to our community:

• Job creation
• Export of U.S. goods and service
• Benefits to national security and energy policy
• Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions 

These efforts are part of the Energy Department's commitment to advancing the next generation of nuclear reactor technologies and breaking down the technical and economic barriers to deployment. These Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) will help leverage Savannah River's land assets, energy facilities and nuclear expertise to support potential private sector development, testing and licensing of prototype SMR technologies.

As reported back in October 2010, an assessment of potential American jobs created by "development, manufacture, and deployment" of small modular reactors in the U.S. was unveiled on September 29, 2010 at a Center for Strategic & International Studies forum. The study was underwritten by the American Council on Global Nuclear Competitiveness. The study concludes that "development of a robust domestic SMR industry will result in significant economic benefits." The analysis was a collaborative effort by the Boise State University in conjunction with the University of New Mexico. According to the report:

"A prototypical SMR costing $500 million to manufacture and install on-site is estimated to create nearly 7,000 jobs and generate $1.3 billion in sales, $627 million in value-added, $404 million in earnings (payroll) and $35 million in indirect business taxes. In addition, the annual operation of each 100 MW SMR unit is estimated to create about 375 jobs and generate $107 million in sales, $68 million in value-added, $27 million in earnings payroll), and $9 million in indirect business taxes.... total economic impacts were determined to range from $200B - $400B."

Click here for a copy of the study.