Nuclear workforce dwindles while needs for future grow

By W. R. (RICK) TOOLE

Chairman

and Dr. SUSAN WINSOR

Past Chair

SRS Community Reuse Organization

As America continues to struggle under the economic and national security challenges posed by our dependence on foreign oil, nuclear energy remains one of the best options for moving our country toward a brighter energy future.

Today, there is a lot of talk about a nuclear renaissance, a rebirth of our national commitment to nuclear technology as a viable answer to America's energy dilemma. We must move from the talking stage to immediate action to help break the grip of foreign oil on our country.

Currently, 104 nuclear power plants are operating in the United States, producing about 20 percent of our total electrical supply. Together, Georgia's four nuclear units account for more than one-fourth of the state's electricity generation. South Carolina's five nuclear units supply about half of the state's electricity demand.

Clearly, nuclear energy must play a vital role in our future energy strategy. As current and past chairs of the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO), we and the 22 community leaders from two states who serve on our board strongly support expansion of nuclear energy as a central component of that long-term strategy.

We particularly support continued operation and planned expansion of the SCANA's V. C. Summer Nuclear Plant at Winnsboro, and the Southern Company's Vogtle Nuclear Plant near Waynesboro, Ga. Both utilities have proposed to build two additional units at each site. These new units are scheduled to join the grid in the 2016 to 2019 time frame, greatly expanding existing electrical production capacity.

These new units are critical to our energy future and to our nation's quest for energy independence. Nuclear power is reliable, economical and, most of all, safe. Electricity production at existing nuclear power plants continues at near-record performance levels with capacity factors at an impressive 90 percent. Operating costs - estimated at 1.68 cents per kilowatt hour in 2006 - continue to be the lowest of any source of electricity. And the last several years have shown that this strong operating performance is sustainable while maintaining a solid safety record. Nuclear is also our number one source of emission-free electricity.

While public acceptance continues to pose a significant challenge, there is another looming problem that must be quickly addressed if we are to realize the potential of the nuclear option: the trained nuclear workforce is dwindling at an alarming rate and must be replaced now before nuclear power can deliver on its promise.

Commercial nuclear power is now more than 50 years old. The latest survey by the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) revealed that up to 15,600 trained industry workers may be eligible to retire today, representing 27 percent of all jobs in the sector. Half the current nuclear workforce will be eligible to retire in the next five years.

Key suppliers to the nuclear energy industry, which include architect/engineering firms, construction firms, fuel suppliers and reactor manufacturers, anticipate that nearly one-third of their workers will be eligible to retire by the end of 2009.

The Health Physics Society has identified a critical shortage of qualified radiation protection professionals who support plant operations. Present demand for these workers is nearly 130 percent over supply.

The industry also expects a staffing shortage among nuclear engineers. The number of university nuclear engineering programs has declined to about 29 from 65 in 1980. State budget shortfalls are contributing to this decline as universities can no longer afford to maintain small research reactors.

The SRS Community Reuse Organization has published an extensive position paper on the state of the nuclear workforce. It is available at www.srscro.org. To take maximum advantage of nuclear's potential, the CSRA needs a unified strategy to address these pressing workforce issues.