Resources Archive
In an unprecedented show of force, a growing and diverse group is standing behind nuclear as a key piece of the climate solution. These groups include Google, UN IPCC and the Union of Concerned Scientists.
The urgency to rapidly reduce carbon emissions is growing each day. In response, important voices and organizations focused on climate change have come to a clear consensus that nuclear energy is essential for timely decarbonization. Their recent analyses show that nuclear energy must be preserved to enable policymakers to curb emissions.
More of our nation’s top security experts are recognizing nuclear energy as a cornerstone of national security. Why? It ensures geopolitical leadership abroad, offers the U.S. a resilient grid without carbon emissions and supports our national defense.
More nuclear plants are seeking to help build a carbon-free future by having their operating licenses extended to keep providing reliable, clean energy for another 20 years. If we want to protect the climate and power our way of life, America’s nuclear reactors need to be a part of the solution.
The 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then part of the former Soviet Union, is the only accident in the history of commercial nuclear power to cause fatalities from radiation. It was the product of a severely flawed Soviet-era reactor design, combined with human error.
As greater attention is paid to climate issues, a growing number of thought leaders are weighing in on effective policy solutions. The urgency of this moment calls for a technology-neutral approach that values all carbon-free sources of power generation—including nuclear—to prevent further impacts from climate change. Top media and media opinion leaders are making the case for nuclear as critical to policy remedies.
The following list shows how nuclear plant operators have responded to extreme natural events over the past decade.
Since the early 1970s, there have been at least 20,000 safe shipments of more than 80,000 metric tons of used nuclear fuel worldwide, none of which has involved any leaks of radioactive material or personal injury.
All the high-level nuclear waste produced by the U.S. nuclear energy industry in more than 50 years of operation would, if stacked end to end, cover a football field to a depth of less than 10 yards.
This report from the Global Nexus Initiative is a distillation of the issues examined in a series of workshops and three major policy memos.
Numerous advanced nuclear technologies are being developed in the United States, offering benefits lower costs, faster construction and variable size.
This fact sheet details the defense-in-depth philosophy used in the construction and operation of nuclear power plants, which are designed to provide high levels of protection for public health and safety.