Title:

Undoing the Demonization of Radiation and Fear of Fission

Speaker:

Mr. Charles W. Pennington

Affiliation:

NAC International

When:

Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 11:00:00 AM   Add to Calendar

Where:

Boggs Building, Room 3-47, 3rd FL

Host:

Dr. Nolan Hertel
nolan.hertel@me.gatech.edu
(404) 894-3601

Abstract

The Fukushima Daiichi event presents the global nuclear industry with much the same public fear reaction as it faced following TMI and Chernobyl. Frankly, the industry has not invested well in public information and education concerning radiation and nuclear energy over the last 3+ decades, and there is concern that we are actually further behind in such education, now that media organizations are empowered with information and communications technologies that can overload the public with any message they desire. The concern over radiation from nuclear energy remains one of the public’s most visceral responses to nuclear energy and perhaps its greatest obstacle to playing a significant role in resolving the world’s growing energy dilemma. Many within the nuclear industry are not widely knowledgeable of radiation issues and protections offered by nuclear technology. Certainly very few have a sense of the comparative safety of nuclear energy with respect to the radiological impacts of non-nuclear industries in relation to the worst that could credibly happen with nuclear energy. This seminar is a compilation of material from education efforts on radiation and nuclear energy. It offers a broad, brief overview of public myths and misperceptions and how some of these can be factually addressed with a proper public outreach and education program. It also summarizes the radiological safety measures and protections within the design of nuclear energy systems that reduce hypothetical event outcomes to levels far below the actual public doses from non-nuclear industries. The seminar should be useful for those who may be or may become associated with nuclear energy and would like information or a brief refresher on key considerations associated with the radiological safety of nuclear energy.

Biography

Mr. Pennington serves as an executive consultant in the areas of spent fuel storage, transportation, packaging systems, and comparative technology radiological safety. Employed at NAC International, he has served in a number of senior management and corporate officer positions responsible for engineering and licensing, product development, project management, and marketing/business development. He has successfully directed efforts in these functional areas for several major spent fuel storage and transport systems and technologies, including the development and design of packaging systems and the performance of radiological safety analyses. For almost three decades, he has served in technology and management leadership positions for the U.S. spent fuel storage and transport industry. With 45 years of nuclear experience, he holds several patents for nuclear applications and has provided expert witness services covering a range of nuclear matters. He has also directed NAC’s Nuclear Spent Fuel Academy, an educational colloquium, and has been active in writing and public outreach efforts on the comparative radiological safety of nuclear technology, having published more than 10 research papers and articles in a variety of refereed journals and other publications. Using his spent fuel storage/transport expertise and comparative radiological safety research, he has provided key input at the request of the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future during 2010 and 2011.

Notes

Refreshments will be served.