22/08/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 22/08/2024 12:22
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is forming an ad hoc committee to hold a two-day workshop titled "Pathways for New Nuclear Development" and is open to recommendations from the public through August 30. NASEM is seeking five or six volunteer experts to discuss the "real and perceived risks of new nuclear projects and their projected timelines" as committee members and is also looking for potential speakers, participants, and peer reviewers for any publications that could be produced following the workshop.
The workshop, which has not yet been scheduled, will "facilitate in-depth discussions among policymakers, regulators, community experts, and technical experts from industry, national labs, and academia" on "the perceived barriers to new nuclear development and strategies that might motivate owner/operators to plan and build new nuclear projects." It will build on recommendations from the NASEM consensus report Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, published in April 2023.
Barriers to tackle: The workshop will focus on three main themes:
More on Laying the Foundation: The NASEM Consensus Committee on Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States met for two years before publishing a 300-page report on a full range of technical, regulatory, economic, and societal challenges confronting the nuclear community as it prepares for new reactor deployments. The report included recommendations for the Department of Energy, the NRC, other federal and state agencies, and private industry. The same consensus committee released the proceedings of a workshop held as part of the study-Understanding the Societal Challenges Facing Nuclear Power-in 2022.
Not in scope were the front- and back-end fuel cycle issues previously addressed in a companion NASEM study and report-Merits and Viability of Different Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Technology Options and the Waste Aspects of Advanced Nuclear Reactors-first released in November 2022.
Get your recommendations in: Interested parties are invited to recommend an expert and provide feedback on the project. Individuals may nominate themselves or other experts for consideration to serve on the committee and to aid the committee's efforts. The call for recommendations closes on August 30 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).