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The Future of Nuclear Power in the United States 

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In the wake of the devastating meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, many Americans are now reevaluating the costs and benefits of nuclear energy. If anything, the accident underscores that constant vigilance is needed to ensure nuclear safety. Policymakers and the public need more guidance about where nuclear power in the United States appears to be headed in light of the economic hurdles confronting construction of nuclear power plants, aging reactors, and a graying workforce, according to a report by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and Washington and Lee University.

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Resources:

BIOS- 
EDITORS
Charles D. Ferguson, President of the Federation of American Scientists

Frank A. Settle, Visiting Professor of Chemistry at Washington and Lee University


AUTHORS:
John F. Ahearne,
Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society 

Albert V. Carr, Jr., Washington and Lee School of Law 

Harold A. Feiveson, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

Daniel Ingersoll, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Andrew C. Klein, Oregon State University

Stephen Maloney, Azuolas Risk Advisors

Ivan Oelrich, independent defense analyst and former Vice President for Strategic Security at FAS

Sharon Squassoni, Center for Strategic and International Studies

Richard Wolfson, Middlebury College

 

From FAS.org- 
The President's Desk
Secrecy News
Strategic Security Blog 

 

CRS Reports- 
2012 January 12: Nuclear Power Plant Design and Seismic Safety Concerns

2011August 25: Financing Recovery After a Catastrophic Earthquake or Nuclear Power Incident

2011 May 10: Nuclear Energy Policy

2011 April 5: The Japanese Nuclear Incident

2011 March 29: Nuclear Power Plant Sites

The Report:

The Future of Nuclear Power in the United States 

Edited By Dr. Charles D. Ferguson and Dr. Frank A. Settle.

April 2012 - Update to Chapter 2: A Critical Examination of Nuclear Power's Costs

Press Releases:

2012 February 8: Will Nuclear Power in the United States See a Revival This Decade?

2012 February 8: Nuclear Power Report Co-Prepared by Washington and Lee Debuts Feb. 8. 

Book:

Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, May 2011).

In the News:

2012 February 8: Government Security News"Study Says Nuclear Plant Designs Need Stepped Up Attention to Security" 

Opinion:
2011 November, Foreign Policy"Think Again: Nuclear Power"

2011 July 1, U.S. News & World Report: "U.S. Must Learn From Japan's Nuclear Crisis"

2011 March 23, NatureDo Not Phase Out Nuclear Power -- Yet

2011 March 16, Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsThe Need For a Resilient Energy Policy in Japan