The idea of a Nuclear Campus project in Oklahoma not only has the support of Gov. Kevin Stitt and his former Energy Secretary Jeff Starling but now it is supported by an Oklahoma newspaper.
The Lawton Constitution recently came out in an opinion piece stating, “Managed correctly (the more significant of the odds), it’s easy to see nuclear power as a much-needed boost to the nation’s ravenous electrical needs.”
Why is it needed? The paper answered its own question by stating, “But let’s face, if you are reading this editorial, you are on the grid and consuming some level of electricity. It’s important to note that nuclear energy has been a mainstay of the global naval fleet for the last three-quarters of a century, though there have been five accidents during that time, the last one (that we know of) on a Russian submarine in 1985.”
The editorial summarized the potential for the nuclear campus, “While we understand there maybe some hesitation or even opposition, we respectfully ask to consider current science and regulations and base your opinion on that rather than history that was learned from or the glamorous gore of Hollywood.”
The editorial follows:
“May the odds ever be in your favor.”
So goes the famous line in the “Hunger Games,” the story of an apocalyptic future in which contestants battle to win a life of leisure and riches.
And odds are what we kept coming back to as we evaluated the possibility of Oklahoma being selected as a “Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus,” one of three proposed by the Federal government.
The odds of Oklahoma getting a site are basically one in two. Five other states — Utah, Louisiana, Tennessee, Idaho and West Virginia — are contending for one of the sites, which would handle tasks such as “fuel fabrication, enrichment, used nuclear material reprocessing or recycling, advanced separations, and the management of waste streams,” according to reporting by Mike W Ray in this week’s Constitution.
Of course, it’s not just the operation of nuclear facilities that raise concerns. Something has to be done with the spent fuel when its lifecycle ends, as well as materials used in the manufacturing process. The government’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has been an underground repository four-tenths of a mile underground, receiving defense-related transuranic waste (contaminated clothing, tools, rags, and soil from weapons research and production) since 1999. Spent fuel is predominantly stored on site at various facilities.
Presumably, those are the types of issues which will be at the forefront of such a facility. Safety in the nuclear industry has evolved by leaps and bounds since it was brought to the forefront by President Eisenhower.
While any such venture contains risk, the volume of regulations have evolved and grown far beyond measure since the founding of “Atoms for Peace” in 1957. Both Republican and Democrat leaders have called for a nuclear renaissance — whether it be to reduce greenhouse gases, limit the reliance on foreign oil or some other reason — and many Americans are saying now is the time.
Oklahoma has been a leader in the energy field since the Nellie Johnstone was drilled in 1897. We have been at the vanguard of many energy production innovations. While we understand there maybe some hesitation or even opposition, we respectfully ask to consider current science and regulations and base your opinion on that rather than history that was learned from or the glamorous gore of Hollywood.
