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SRSCRO Completes Study of Region's Role in Nuclear Fuel Cycle
 In June 2012, the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) commissioned a study for leaders in the five county region in South Carolina and Georgia represented by the SRSCRO. The study provides leaders with information necessary to determine what resources the region has available to participate in a national solution for managing the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle.
The scope of the study was to help answer the following question: Should a five-county region surrounding the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site use its assets to help provide solutions to managing the nation's fuel cycle? If so, what are the terms and conditions under which we the community would agree to participate?
Timothy A. Frazier, Senior Advisor with the Washington government relations firm of Dickstein Shapiro LLP, headed the study. Frazier is a former senior Department of Energy official who served as Designated Federal Officer for DOE's Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on America's Nuclear Future. The study followed the BRC's call for a new, consent-based approach to siting future nuclear waste management facilities.
With the study now complete, the SRSCRO Board of Directors will consider its role in helping to develop a comprehensive plan aimed at building community consensus about hosting fuel cycle-related activities. |
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Skills for the Nuclear Future
 | | Aiken Technical College student Chris Kunka practices his welding skills on a virtual welding machine in class. |
Aiken Technical College is this month's spotlight in the continuing series about regional education and training programs developed as part of the Advancing Nuclear Skills Regionally (ANSR) grant. The programs receive funding from the Department of Energy ANSR grant to the SRSCRO that assists five area colleges in developing the future nuclear workforce.
Aiken Technical College is taking the initiative to meet the long-term demand for specialized skills in the nuclear industry with a newly launched Nuclear Quality Systems (NQS) program and Advanced Welding program. These programs complement the well-established Radiation Protection Technology program at the college and address workforce needs for the industry.
Long-term nuclear workforce demand is growing in the greater region as new nuclear reactors are under construction at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Fairfield County, S.C., and at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, GA. New facilities are also under construction at Savannah River Site. But in many cases, the nuclear industry's highly skilled workforce is preparing to retire. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, about half of the nuclear industry's work force will be eligible to retire during the next 10 years.
Nuclear industry representatives ranging from commercial utility operators to government contractors and vendors from across the country comprise the advisory council that is integral to the development of the new NQS program. Through an agreement with SCANA, 33-year veteran and supervisor Furman Miller is working with the advisory council and Aiken Technical College to establish the program that will offer an Associate degree in Nuclear Quality Systems with emphases in Nuclear Quality Control and Nuclear Quality Assurance. Several certificates are also offered, and the program is designed so that students gain firsthand experience. NQS courses were launched during fall 2012.
Modified welding instruction also began during fall 2012. A newly installed virtual welder simulates welding scenarios and allows students to learn and practice techniques. An advanced nuclear welding program is in development to prepare students with high demand welding skills.
Visit www.atc.edu for more information about these programs.
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NNSW 2013
 The SRSCRO Region will be in the national spotlight during National Nuclear Science Week (NNSW), October 21-25, 2013. Annually, an area of the country serves as a focal point for the celebration that highlights the vital role that nuclear science plays in the lives of Americans and the world. Other locations have been the focus in years past, including the Illinois Institute of Technology and Washington DC. During 2013, attention will come to our region as we join in recognizing the contributions of the nuclear science industry and those who work in it every day. From advances in nuclear power and nuclear medicine to the vast nuclear technology in use at Savannah River Site, our region has a great deal to celebrate. The SRSCRO is coordinating the planning for regional events that include nuclear employers and organizations working in concert with the national steering committee. NNSW is led by the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, a Smithsonian Affiliate. The week is endorsed by the Department of Energy, industry partners and organizations throughout the nation. Look for more to come about events this fall. |
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Dr. Moniz
 On March 4, President Barack Obama nominated Ernest Moniz as Secretary of Energy. Moniz, 67, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has directed the university's Energy Initiative, would replace Steven Chu, who has said he will resign once his successor is confirmed. Dr. Moniz is currently a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as director of the MIT Energy Initiative and director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at the MIT Department of Physics.
In addition to his time at MIT, Moniz was the Undersecretary of Energy from 1997 to 2001. During that time he led all of DOE's science and energy programs and the DOE national laboratory system. He was also responsible for the review of the nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship program, and served as DOE's special negotiator on the disposal of Russian nuclear materials. Before that he was associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and currently serves on the President's Council of Advisors for Science and Technology and on the Department of Defense Threat Reduction Advisory Committee.
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SRSCRO Spotlight | |
SRSCRO
Appointing Entity
John Barrow
Working for the People of Georgia's 12th District
Congressman John Barrow is currently serving his fifth term as Congressman from Georgia's 12th Congressional District.
John Barrow's Georgia roots run deep. For over 7 generations, his family has farmed, taught, preached, and practiced law all across eastern and southeastern Georgia.
He grew up learning the importance of serving his community and standing up for what's right. John's father, James Barrow, was a decorated World War II veteran, and his mother, Phyllis Barrow, also served in the armed service during World War II, attaining the rank of Captain. Both were courageous and outspoken leaders in the effort to desegregate the University of Georgia.
John earned degrees in political science and history from the University of Georgia. Later, at only 20 years old, he became one of the youngest members of his class at Harvard Law School.
In 1990, after having built and run a successful law practice, John was elected as a charter member of the Athens-Clarke County Commission. He served on the Commission for 14 years, voting against every tax increase, working for economic development, fighting for property tax relief for homeowners, and developing innovative programs to improve the quality of life of the people he represents.
In Congress, those are the same values John Barrow fights for every day.
In the House of Representatives, John currently serves on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee. John is also a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition and currently serves as the group's Co-Chair for Administration.
John is the father of two children, James and Ruth.
(Source: Congressman Barrow's Web Site at http://barrow.house.gov)
SRSCRO Board Member
Dr. Lisa Palmer has been appointed by Congressman Barrow. |
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