Resources Archive

Tritium Fact Sheet

Nuclear plants provide clean, reliable power around the clock using the most powerful energy source on the planet: nuclear fuel. NEI is proposing to adopt the following principles to guide industry’s efforts to advance used nuclear fuel recycling technologies.

Learn all about the facts on nuclear.

Nuclear plants create well-paying jobs, are reliable and provide the most carbon-free electricity in the U.S. States are acting to value nuclear energy and new plants are on the horizon.

Nuclear plants create well-paying jobs, are reliable and provide the most carbon-free electricity in the U.S. States are acting to value nuclear energy and new plants are on the horizon.

This fact sheet details the nuclear energy industry's safety standards and operating practices as well as performance and the defense-in-depth philosophy.

A timeline of safety enhancements that the U.S. nuclear industry has made since 1980.

Since the 2011 accident at Fukushima, the industry has substantially raised the bar on safety at U.S. nuclear power plants.

Learn all the facts you need to know about our top source of carbon-free energy.

Many voices have joined the consensus to reduce carbon emissions. Now politicians, investors, policy experts, climate activists and more are transforming those sentiments into concrete steps forward. There is one constant: Any path to reduce carbon emissions must be technology-neutral. As plans become policy, it’s clear that nuclear energy will have an essential role in our future.

Nuclear energy is the ideal carbon-free, 24/7/365 partner to wind turbines, solar panels and energy storage in meeting President Biden’s goal to decarbonize our electricity system by 2035 and rebuild the economy.

Nuclear energy will play a major role in the transition to a carbon-free world. The U.S. industry must be able to compete quickly, in order to ensure our national securityand regain leadership from Russia and China.

A consensus is forming that as important as renewables are to reduce carbon emissions, achieving a 100 percent clean, carbon-free energy system requires a mix of fuels. Nuclear power—the nation’s largest source of carbon-free electricity—is an essential part of the U.S. clean energy portfolio.

A comprehensive review of publicly available operational and safety performance metrics demonstrates that the U.S. nuclear industry has consistently and substantially improved both performance and safety. Industry’s high level of performance manifests itself in many ways, including public safety, worker safety and plant reliability.

Find the numbers on all things nuclear energy including advantages, performance data and the outlook of the industry.

Both the industry and the government responded swiftly and decisively to the TMI 2 accident, with the industry establishing INPO. Decades of research and scientific studies have shown no negative health effects on the population surrounding the plant.

The 2011 nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi and the 1986 incident at Chernobyl were both rated 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, but the accidents were starkly different in their cause, the governments’ response and health effects.

If we want to protect the climate, we need to support nuclear carbon-free energy with smarter regulations at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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.

America’s nuclear industry provides nearly 475,000 direct and secondary full-time jobs. Here are stats about nuclear energy jobs.

The following list shows how nuclear plant operators have responded to extreme natural events over the past decade.

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.

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.

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.

This fact sheet explains the process of decommissioning a nuclear power plant after it is removed from service. This regulated process includes the removal and disposal of radioactive components and materials.

This fact sheet explains how energy companies develop, maintain and exercise emergency preparedness plans to protect the health and safety of the public living near nuclear power plants.

Mining uranium and preparing it for use in a nuclear energy plant is a complex and multifaceted process, requiring a precise knowledge of the element’s chemical nature to convert and enrich it. This fact sheet explains the steps comprising the front end of the fuel cycle.

Nuclear energy can help meet the goals of a clean-energy, low-carbon economy because—like wind, solar and hydropower—it does not produce greenhouse gases. It is the largest clean-air energy source and the only one that can produce large amounts of electricity around the clock.

This fact sheet details the research of radiation exposure and safety, as well as the organizations responsible for radiation protection regulations.

The commercial nuclear industry has been aggressively developing new types of reactor fuels that are more robust with improved performance. These innovative new fuel products will benefit not only the existing nuclear fleet but are crucial to new advanced reactors designs.

Across the United States, 92 nuclear reactors power tens of millions of homes and anchor local communities. Navigate national and state statistics for nuclear energy with the tabs along the top, and select your state to see how nuclear energy benefits your community.