Nuclear Reactors Go Micro
February 17, 2023
The face of nuclear power may be changing, due partly to university researchers who are developing new microreactors that may prove suitable for smaller communities, easier to build, and safer to operate. But to effectively capitalize on this potential, Jessica Lovering and Suzanne Hobbs Baker argue in Issues, the nuclear industry will need to undergo fundamental change, especially in some thorny nontechnical areas. The authors maintain, for example, that the industry must pay greater heed to public views about plant approval processes and siting and to the costs borne by communities near uranium mines and processing plants.