There is something particularly unsettling when we hear of cybersecurity breaches at large tech firms. Those companies, which are world-famous names, are supposed to be the experts, right? It shouldn’t happen to them, yet it does.
During the week of March 22, 2021, USA Nuclear performed an on-site assessment of Palisades Nuclear Power Plant to determine the process and tasks to be performed in security to decommission the site safely and successfully within a pre-defined plant shutdown schedule. A separate report was developed and provided to site leadership identifying USA Nuclear’s observations and recommendations. Steven D. Root, P.E. and Senior Nuclear Engineer Consultant at USA Nuclear, conducted the subject onsite security assessment.
There is considerable interest on the part of the U.S. Government to support the economic viability of emerging advanced reactor technologies. But for these reactors to be successful in domestic and international markets, the U.S. must reconsider regulatory requirements that were initially developed for the existing U.S. fleet of large light water reactors.
It is axiomatic that without growing future electricity demand, there is little incentive to add new generating facilities (regardless of technology). Absent an unpredicted major upsurge in electric vehicle market penetration, EIA tells us that electricity demand growth in the U.S. will remain virtually flat at least until 2050. U.S.-based advanced reactor suppliers will, of necessity, focus near-term marketing in other countries.
Commercial nuclear plants are safe and secure. Bill Gates said in 2012, “Nuclear energy, in terms of an overall safety record, is better than other energy,” and that is still valid today. A large contribution to the impressive safety records at nuclear plants is the strong security force and systems in place to prevent adversaries from causing radiological sabotage.
