Over the last several days, we've received calls and emails from people around Wyoming and beyond—citizens and lawmakers alike—who want a deeper understanding of nuclear power risks and, most importantly, what is spent nuclear fuel and what it has to do with small modular reactor manufacturing in regards to SF186. With projects like TerraPower in Kemmerer and our state's potential new SMR manufacturing industry, these questions should be front and center.
In this episode of Eye on the Issues, we sit down with a well-known voice in the world of nuclear risk education: Dr. Gordon Edwards, president and co-founder of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. With decades of research and advocacy, Dr. Edwards has been at the forefront of educating on the actual risks and realities of nuclear power, nuclear waste, and the long-term consequences of storing radioactive materials.
The discussion includes:
- The hidden dangers of nuclear waste and why the problem was dismissed for decades
- The history of misinformation surrounding nuclear power's safety and "clean energy" claims
- Why existing deep geological repositories for waste disposal have failed
- The alarming risks of plutonium production and its connection to nuclear weapons proliferation
- The reality of "temporary" storage solutions and how vague legal definitions could leave Wyoming holding the bag for radioactive waste for generations
- The Natrium reactor in Wyoming—what's not being told about its highly concentrated radioactive byproducts
- How small modular reactors (SMRs) produce more radioactive waste per unit of energy than conventional nuclear plants
- Why the United States uses thin-walled nuclear waste storage canisters
- Dr. Edwards recounts his historic televised 1974 debate with Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb
Dr. Gordon Edwards' "Nuclear 101" • Nuclear Waste 101 [by G Edwards]
1974 Nuclear Debate: G Edwards v E Teller https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZy10obDkoo&t=0s