From our neighbors to the north, proposals in maritime Canada to build the hoped for “next generation” of nuclear power – small modular reactors, or SMRs – are receiving strong criticism, not only from environmentalists but also a US nuclear expert.
None other than former NRC Chair and now BC professor Allison Macfarlane questions a New Brunswick SMR project that purports to be able to reduce the length of time radioactive spent fuel has to be stored while extending the viability of nuclear power generation, saying, “Prove it.” Macfarlane, who had a lot to do with derailing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository on geological grounds, and who as NRC Chair met with SAPL representatives in 2013 to discuss Seabrook concerns, went on to say that SMR developers are, “selling you a bridge to nowhere.”
Read the CBC/Radio-Canada article:
Former U.S. Regulator Questions Small Nuclear Reactor Technology