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Breadcrumb

  1. Research
  2. Energy Resiliency
  3. Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy

Advancing nuclear power
for a reliable, safe,
and secure energy future

PNNL led the environmental review for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission operating license for the Watts Bar Nuclear Unit 2 in Tennessee. The review evaluated a full scope of areas, ranging from aquatic ecology to radiological impacts to cultural resources to noise. The NRC approved the Tennessee Valley Authority's application for facility operating license for a second light-water nuclear reactor. Read more here.

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  • Nuclear Energy
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Nuclear-generated electricity produces benefits beyond keeping our homes warm, lights on, and cell phones charged. The federal government estimates use of carbon-free nuclear energy in America avoids some 650 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

At PNNL, we use our decades of expertise to facilitate the design of advanced reactors, extend the lives of the existing fleet, and develop processes for recycling, safe storage, transportation, and disposal of used nuclear fuel.

We have a long heritage of supporting our nation’s nuclear energy programs. A combination of science and technology expertise, a unique Hanford history, and highly equipped modern facilities allow us to bring substantial resources to helping solve the nation's nuclear energy challenges. For example, we led the International Nuclear Safety Program on behalf of DOE—enhancing the safety of reactors in former Soviet states; our staff led R&D for the Fast Flux Test Facility sodium-cooled fast reactor; and we served as the waste form qualification authority for the Yucca Mountain Project and the Materials Characterization Center.

We also are supporting the Japanese response, and related safety modifications to the U.S. fleet, to the 2011 accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Staff expertise and specialized facilities—such as the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory, a Hazard Category 2 nuclear facility—are substantial assets to the federal government and the commercial nuclear sector.

Recent News

JANUARY 4, 2021
Staff Accomplishment

Physicist Malachi Schram Co-Edits ‘AI for Nuclear Physics’ Report

Read
Malachi Schram
DECEMBER 18, 2020
Staff Accomplishment

Devanathan Leads Pioneering Review at the Forefront of Multiscale Modeling

Read
RamAccomplishment
DECEMBER 18, 2020
Web Feature

Ettringite Cements Its Potential

Read
cement
SEE MORE RELATED NEWS

Related Capabilities

Decision Science & Analysis
Earth Systems Science & Engineering
Nuclear Engineering
SEE ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES

Facilities

Radiochemical Processing Laboratory 318 Building Applied Process Engineering Laboratory Shallow Underground Laboratory

Related Research

Materials Science Waste Processing Nuclear & Particle Physics Radiation Measurement Environmental Management Chemistry

Related Divisions

Earth Systems Science Division
Nuclear Sciences Division

Related Links

Additional Nuclear Energy capabilities at PNNLPNNL's Nuclear Research FacilitiesJob OpportunitiesWSU-PNNL Nuclear Science and Technology InstituteSearch for Nuclear Sciences Division publications

Brochures

File

PNNL_NuclearEnergy-Regulatory_Capabilities_Overview.pdf

Contacts

Mark Nutt
Manager, Nuclear market sector
mark.nutt@pnnl.gov
509-375-2984
Tara O'Neil
Manager, Nuclear Regulatory market subsector
tara.oneil@pnnl.gov
541-738-0362

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