Local expert foresees nuclear renaissance

Retired health physicist to speak Nov. 26

By Mark Fischenich

Growth in America’s nuclear energy industry has been at a standstill in the nearly 30 years since the infamous malfunction at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear plant, a status that was reinforced with the meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine in 1986.

But Genevieve Roessler of rural Elysian thinks there might be a renaissance for nuclear power in America’s future, and the retired associate professor of radiation biology believes it’s time for Americans to start talking about the implications of that. That’s why Roessler agreed to give a public presentation on the outlook for nuclear energy on Nov. 26 at Centenary United Methodist Church in Mankato.

“I hope that by being informed, we can make better decisions about nuclear energy,” said Roessler, who taught at the University of Florida’s Department of Nuclear Engineering. “... I personally think there are misconceptions.”

The title given to the presentation, “The Future of Nuclear Energy,” might be a bit more than can be covered in one night, according to Roessler. Still, Roessler will give a bit of background on how nuclear reactors work, provide statistics about nuclear energy production in the United States and around the world, run through the pros and cons of nuclear energy and talk about storage of nuclear waste.

“My perspective will be as a health physicist, which means somebody in the field of radiation safety,” she said.

Roessler and her husband Charles, a professor emeritus at the University of Florida, served as consultants to the nuclear industry after the Three Mile Island incident in 1979, and she’s visited areas of the Ukraine and Belarus to study the health impacts of the radiation released in the Chernobyl disaster.

“I can say that there were, and will not be, any health effects due to the Three Mile Island accident,” she said.

The Chernobyl accident killed about 30 workers and damaged the thyroids of young children living in the regions around the plant, she said.

Nuclear plants in the United States are constructed differently than those in other parts of the world, however, and newer and even safer designs are available for future American plants, she said.

Since Three Mile Island, there have been no new nuclear power plants added to the power grid in the United States. During that time, the nation’s energy demands have only increased and warnings about global climate change have made fossil fuel consumption one of the top environmental concerns of the day.

Roessler said there are legitimate concerns about nuclear power, particularly the highly radioactive waste it generates and the need to find ways to safely contain it. But there are also concerns about the carbon emissions and other pollutants that come with coal-powered plants, and about the future availability of petroleum.

“How do we balance the good parts and the not-so-good-parts of all these energy sources?” she said. “... These are all part of a very delicate balancing act.”