Gregory Jaczko resigns

Gregory Jaczko resigned from the Chairmanship of the NRC today. Mr. Jaczko has been a controversial figure, with various allegations of misconduct against him. Among other accomplishments, he was responsible for shutting down the Yucca Mountain waste repository. Mr. Jaczko has served as Chairman for 3 years, and was a member of the NRC for eight.

MIT indicates current exposure rules may be unreasonable

MIT has published a new study in Environmental Health Perspectives which analyzes the effect of high levels of constant radiation on the DNA of mice. The study found no measurable change after continuous exposure to levels of radiation 400 times greater than normal.
In the study, mice were exposed for five weeks. The result:

"these results demonstrate in an in vivo animal model that lowering the dose-rate suppresses the potentially deleterious impact of radiation, and calls attention to the need for a deeper understanding of the biological impact of low dose-rate radiation."

The same total dosage, when delivered "acutely" (all at once), did create the expected problems. In other words, radiation exposure appears not to be cumulative, or not nearly so much as has been thought.

This is an important finding. Current rules treat all radiation exposure as dangerous and seeks to minimize exposure, encouraging sometime ridiculous efforts to protect people from something that may not be dangerous.

The wide-spread evacuations following the Fukushima accident were largely protective. Because of earthquake damage, residents did not have the normal mobility, shelter, information, communication or health care systems available. As a result, thousands were evacuated out of an abundance of caution. This study, hopefully, will alleviate irrational fears and allow correct responses to future disasters.

"Current U.S. regulations require that residents of any area that reaches radiation levels eight times higher than background should be evacuated. However, the financial and emotional cost of such relocation may not be worthwhile, the researchers say." (Quote from MIT News.)

Anti-nuclear and environmentalist groups leverage (often irrational) fear of radiation to achieve their political ends. Hopefully, this study will reduce the potency of silly scare tactics and help government and industry to do the right thing.

New Energy Advisor for Governor Herbert

Governor Herbert has tapped Cody Stewart, previously the Chief of Staff for Lt. Governor Bell, to be his "Energy Advisor".
Key quote from Mr. Stewart:

"I'm convinced Utah's energy sector has a bright future, and I look forward to working with the governor and the Office of Energy Development staff to bring about our shared goals of a vibrant, growing energy sector in the state."

Utah, with a growing population and growing economy, will require more energy from diverse sources. Nuclear will be one of those sources. With the large NSA datacenter now being built south of Salt Lake City expected to consume 65 Megawatts of power, the Federal Government now has a strong incentive to ensure a reliable power supply.