Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Proposal for Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Unknown, Untested Nuclear Reactors Sparked Backlash from Critics

Strategic Insights -

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) proposal to produce a "generic" environmental impact statement (GEIS) for "small-scale advanced nuclear reactors" has been met with opposition from experts who argue that it contradicts the agency's primary mission to protect public health and safety. The critics, led by Keith D'Alessandro, a writer who testified in opposition to the proposal, claim that the NRC lacks experience in regulating such reactors and that the proposal is an exercise in speculative fiction.

Key Takeaways:

  • The NRC has no experience regulating "advanced" nuclear reactors (ANRs), with only three commercial non-light-water reactors built in the US since the 1980s, all licensed before the NRC's creation in 1975.
  • The proposal for a generic environmental review is an exercise in speculative fiction, as there is no such thing as a "generic" ANR, and different reactor designs would have different safety issues and environmental impacts.
  • History shows that accidents with nuclear reactors cannot be ruled out, and there is no basis for assuming that small-scale ANRs would not be able to cause significant offsite radiation releases.
  • Non-light water reactors have been known to have significant safety risks, including fires and partial meltdowns, and would generate many different kinds and forms of radioactive waste.
  • The environmental impacts of small-scale ANRs would have significant environmental justice impacts, with polluting facilities and activities disproportionately located on indigenous peoples' lands and in communities of color.
  • The NRC must consider the futility of streamlining the environmental review and licensing process for ANRs due to the realities of climate change and the evolution of energy alternatives.
  • Renewable energy, energy efficiency, battery storage, smart grids, and other sustainable, carbon-free energy resources are rapidly falling in price and making technological leaps and bounds far faster than the nuclear industry can possibly keep up.

Statistics:

  • 40-60% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels) by 2030; and industrial nations like the US would need to achieve reductions at the high end of that range.
  • $1.4 trillion in investment needed for the US to transition to a 100% clean energy economy by 2050 (Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory).
  • The cost of wind and utility-scale solar energy has fallen by 64% and 73% respectively over the last decade (Source: International Renewable Energy Agency).
  • The global renewable energy market has grown from $1.2 trillion in 2016 to over $2.4 trillion in 2020 (Source: International Energy Agency).

Sources:

  • Keith D'Alessandro, writer and expert in nuclear regulation, in opposition to the NRC's proposal (June 11, 2020).
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory, report on the US transition to a 100% clean energy economy (2020).
  • International Renewable Energy Agency, report on the global renewable energy market (2020).
  • International Energy Agency, report on the cost of wind and utility-scale solar energy (2020).