Nuclear USA
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Bellona Archive |
As the birthplace of the atom bomb, nuclear production reactors have been in use in the United States since the early 1940s. At current, after the ramp-down of the Cold War, the Department of Energy oversees production facilities such as the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and Hanford in Washington state, as well as several nuclear weapons labs. In addition to these facilities, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees the used of the country’s Pressurized Water Reactors and Boiling Water Reactors―the only two types used commercially in the United States. There are 104 nuclear power plants (69 PWRs and 35 BWRs) licensed to operate by the NRC providing approximately 20 percent of the country’s electrical power. Unlike Russia, France and the UK, the United States currently does not reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
Weak steel and other poor-quality materials were used in construction of a $4.8 billion facility erected at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to convert weapon-grade uranium into mixed-oxide fuel for use in civilian nuclear reactors, says a report by the Energy Department's inspector general.
A former nuclear cleanup worker pleaded guilty yesterday to attempting to sell components stolen from a decommissioned uranium enrichment plant in Tennessee owned by the US Energy Department (DOE) , the Associated Press reported, Associated Press reported.
US Congress should consider giving authority to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to regulate all or some Department of Energy nuclear facilities if DOE does not improve oversight of safety, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.
The welcome mat at the Shearon Harris information center
In New Hill, North Carolina lies the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant (NPP). The fire safety system at the Shearon Harris is in chaos.
(4 comments)- Nuclear energy
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- A global nuclear renaissance?