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SEAB SMR Summary
 On June 20, 2012, the SRSCRO participated in a Roundtable Discussion on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) hosted by the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) in coordination with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy and Office of Science. The Roundtable Discussion will have no bearing on DOE's SMR Funding Opportunity Announcement.
Vic Reis from DOE's Office of Science - and the Department's lead for providing information on SMRs for the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board (SEAB) - asked ECA to host the roundtable. The purpose of the meeting was to understand the local perspective on the potential use of SMRs as a power source for DOE and other federal facilities. The information provided during the meeting will be used to inform the SEAB's report for the Secretary of Energy with guidance on how to enhance U.S. leadership in civil nuclear energy and how to accelerate the deployment of national energy goals.
- The draft SEAB report will be available for public comment on September 20, 2012.
- The final report is due to the Secretary of Energy by October 20, 2012.
As a follow-up to the Roundtable Discussion, the SRSCRO provided a summary (click here) on the perspective of SMR deployment at SRS and in the region for inclusion in information supplied to the SEAB. |
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Educator Summits
 SRSCRO Board Members from the Nuclear Workforce Initiative (NWI�) Task Force met with area school district Superintendents and other school district leaders during June 2012. Two Educator Summits were held - one in Georgia and another in South Carolina. At each event, local leaders explored ways that NWI� efforts can be supportive of regional school districts, particularly in building a math and science culture that helps prepare local students for emerging occupations across a number of career fields. The events were hosted by the SRSCRO and held in separate states to allow time for discussion related to specific state education requirements.
Educators expressed sincere interest in the newly developed K-12 tools sponsored by the SRSCRO - an animation about nuclear technology and three on-line nuclear job shadows. The SRSCRO is working to enhance the connection capabilities to these tools for local districts.
The fact that more career opportunities exist for students with math and science skills was a major topic of discussion. All districts share a common desire to create excitement about science and math among students, parents and teachers. Information discussed at the Summits about specific district needs will be incorporated into future NWI� K-12 projects.
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Fukushima Update
 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued its June 28, 2012, Status Report to the public on the current status of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, including information on environmental radiation monitoring, the status of workers, and current conditions on-site at the plant.
In addition, a good briefing was provided at the IAEA Technical Meeting in Vienna, June 18-20, 2012 by the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF). This presentation provided an updated status on, and lessons learned from, the Fukushima accident. JAIF is a non-profit organization incorporated under the auspices of the industry to promote peaceful utilization of nuclear energy for the benefit of Japanese nationals in consideration of the importance of the peaceful use of nuclear energy, radioisotopes and radiation in a wide variety of fields. The JAIF was incorporated as the comprehensive non-governmental organization on nuclear energy in Japan on March 1, 1956.
The presentation provided the following summary conclusion:
- Fukushima Daiichi is now in stable condition.
- There is a possibility of power shortage in Japan in the peak demand season without nuclear power.
- Various countermeasures are taken to enhance plant safety against natural hazards and SA (severe accidents).
- Ohi Units 3 and 4 will restart their operations.
- R&D efforts with international cooperation are necessary for complete decommissioning.
While considerable progress has been made, this presentation notes the substantial effort and time that will be required to complete the decommissioning through the planned mid-to-long term road map which is summarized below.
- Commencement of fuel removal from spent fuel pools - within 2 years
- Commencement of removal of fuel debris - within 10 years
- Decommissioning completion - within 30-40 years
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Spreading the News
 More than 120 college interns and local educators are learning more about nuclear careers through workshops this summer. The SRSCRO's Nuclear Workforce Initiative is providing the nuclear career message through involvement with two workshop programs.
Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA) has modified the popular "Bringing Nuclear into the Classroom" workshop and made it available in four sessions to Savannah River Site (SRS) college interns from Savannah River Remediation and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. These workshops are provided at SRS and each workshop concludes with an NWI� overview of the unique education and career opportunities in the SRSCRO region. Nearly 100 college interns are involved in this program.
Teaching Radiation, Energy and Technology (TREAT) is a three-day teacher workshop sponsored by the Department of Energy. The July 10-12 workshop was held at the University of South Carolina Aiken and involved 25 middle and high school teachers from throughout the SRSCRO region. Educators were excited to learn about local nuclear education and training programs for their students. They were enthusiastic about the new SRSCRO sponsored nuclear animation and recently completed nuclear MicroCareerBursts� that provide on-line job shadowing about nuclear technician, nuclear medicine and nuclear construction careers.
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SRSCRO Spotlight | |
SRSCRO
Appointing Entity
THE
GREATER AIKEN CHAMBER of COMMERCE
The Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce is a dynamic business alliance serving the business interests of the region. The roots of the Chamber's rich history date back to 1918. Since then, the Chamber has evolved into the largest voluntary membership driven organization of businesses in the Aiken region.
Mission: The Chamber exists to create opportunities for members to build successful businesses and enhance the quality of life.
Based on the mission, the goals on which the Chamber intends to focus are:
- To build and diversify the economy
- To aid the profitability of the Chamber members
- To represent members' interests in governmental and legislative issues
- To be known as a model Chamber of Commerce
Vision: People living and working together in a vibrant and prosperous community.
The Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce has appointed David Jameson, the Chamber President, to the SRSCRO Board of Directors. Mr. Jameson is the Immediate Past Chair of the SRSCRO.
To learn more about the Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce click here. |
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Carolina Coast Calls SRSCRO Board Member
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Brian Tucker |
Earlier this month Brian Tucker resigned his position as the President and CEO of North Augusta Chamber of Commerce to take a similar post with Georgetown County. Georgetown's Chamber covers everything from Murrell's Inlet to the Charleston County line with a year-round population of approximately 60,000 people. Brian had been with the North Augusta Chamber since December 2008. He moved to North Augusta in 1999 to start work with Security Federal Bank where he spent five years working in residential and construction financing. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Clemson University in Financial Management in 1997.
Brian has been a SRSCRO Board member since 2009 where he served as the Co-Chair of the SRSCRO Yucca Mountain Task Force. With the recent move, Brian has also resigned his position with the SRSCRO Board. The SRSCRO wishes Brian well and best of luck with his future career endeavors along the coast. The SRSCRO expects the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce to appoint another representative for the SRSCRO Board in the next several months.
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