SAVANNAH, GA.—With interest in nuclear energy the highest it has been in years, attaining public trust is vital to development of new reactors and waste disposal projects.
That was a recurring theme here during Exchange Monitor’s 19th Radwaste Summit.
Only a few years ago, state legislatures across the country would propose a handful of nuclear-related bills, said Christine Csizmadia, senior manager for state outreach with the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). Today there are hundreds.
The bills range from studies to lifting of moratoriums against new nuclear plant development.
Not all the bills are pro-nuclear, Csizmadia said. For example, Texas and New Mexico passed bills seeking to enact barriers to consolidated interim storage of spent nuclear fuel, she added.
Public apprehension about nuclear power has not gone away, speakers said.
Once a new political appointee is confirmed at DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, an expression of interest will be issued for communities “to raise their hand” and talk about hosting interim storage, said Marla Morales, director of Collaboration Based Siting at DOE.
DOE does not want to announce choices for interim storage and try to enforce it, which has been problematic in the past, Morales said. It is not DOE’s job “to convince you to do something,” Morales said.
Instead, DOE will try to find “trusted voices” in communities, to discuss information about interim storage, Morales said. Different audiences trust different sources of information, she added.
The government should “stop acting like this is taboo,” and start talking about the issues surrounding spent fuel, said Katrina McMurrian, executive director of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition. The facts and the issues should be discussed, McMurrian said.
Often citizens have very real life concerns about nuclear projects, said Miriam Juckett, stakeholder engagement adviser on nuclear storage and transportation issues for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. “‘I just want to know if my pecan farm is going to be OK,’” is a common sort of refrain, she said.
At the outset of this week’s meeting, retired Nuclear Regulatory Commission executive Larry Camper said nuclear energy is viewed favorably by 61% of people. That is substantially higher than it was just a couple of years ago, he added.
