Challenges facing nuclear energy (Wanda Munn) USofA

Some thoughts about the challenges facing the future of nuclear energy in the USA Wanda Munn Nuclear Engineer August 29, 2017 Several things occur to me as I consider the future of nuclear technologies ---particularly power generation ---in future worlds. All I've seen to this point are the thoughts and reasoning surrounding fear, regulation, and the broad concern of the public in what we do. Except for some of the numerical data involved, nothing other than our longstanding concerns seems to be rising to the surface. It's comfortable for us to talk about these thorns in our respective sides, but there's a separate issue that has always given me great pain. It is my belief that this is the most prevalent reason for the dwindling number of successful commercial startups for over 30 years. Nader's Raiders published their Luddite "how to" manual in the late 60 - early 70's time frame. It was simple, direct, and well promoted. It had already been tested successfully on several highly visible issues in the commercial and industrial sector Their three-pronged approach for destroying the nuclear power industry revolved first around the steady, continuous engendering and expanding of pervasive negative information in all forms of public discourse. The ability to engage most of the best and brightest of entertainers and author/journalists was the major stepping stone through which educators, health professionals, and concerned conservationists could be (and were) rather easily convinced to become visible advocates for the eradication of "manmade radiation". Radiation became the 'undead' for that generation and has continued to hold that distinction ever since.

The second technique was creating a sure fire public acceptance of the idea that 'grassroots' intervention into the approval and siting process for all facilities was not only a fair and reasonable thing to do, but an absolute necessity to insure control of the big business-military complex manipulation of all things potentially catastrophic for the general population. The social justice requirement to prevent these dangers from being foisted upon the poor, downtrodden and innocent was achieved in fairly good order through the generating of dozens of "non government organizations", clearly the only way for concerned citizens to protect themselves.

And finally the third process -- the coup de grace -- routinely developing successive organized labor conflicts and legal interventions at every judicial level possible to create construction delays adequate to make cost overruns impossible to overcome.

It's worked perfectly. If science and proponents of nuclear benefits have systematically undertaken to meet these challenges head on, I am unaware of such efforts -- certainly Page 1

nothing approaching a sustained, entertaining, accurate truth squad willing to span generations with their work. It's difficult to imagine that a successful, smoothly running process for construction of future generating capacity will ever take place unless such an effort is planned and fully maintained ..........until the inevitable occurs and all the bluesky dreaming about what is REALLY available to sustain a low-cost, infinitely reliable source of energy for advanced technological societies finally becomes too obvious to avoid.

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