So-called ‘Small Modular Nuclear Reactors’ (SMRs) would be smaller but also spread out in more communities. They would be less efficient and use a far more dangerous nuclear fuel. All of this is being greenwashed under the banner of a so-called nuclear renaissance by big tech corporations, who claim that it is an answer to climate change.
On This Episode
We interview physicist and lawyer Peter Jones of the Samuel Lawrence Foundation. We track how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s push to weaken long-standing radiation safeguards lines up with the rush to license dangerous, unproven so-called “small modular reactors,” marketed as climate solutions. We connect new research on low dose radiation risk to the unresolved nuclear waste crisis and the growing demand for electricity from AI data centers.
Repealing Safety Regulations for SMRs
In the face of new studies showing increased dangers of exposure to radiation from Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing the repeal of a 50 year old safety regulation known “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” or ALARA, to ensure rapid deployment of SMRs.
Nuclear Radiation Dangers of Enriched SMR Fuel
SMRs are a new nuclear technology seen as a possible answer to the energy bottleneck for the expansion of data centers that feed artificial intelligence. SMRs would be smaller but spread out in more communities. They would be less efficient and use nuclear fuel 4x as enriched as that used in current nuclear plants. All of this is being greenwashed by big tech corporations, who claim it is an answer to climate change.
