Ambient office = 89 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 122 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 122 nanosieverts per hour

Ramaine lettuce from Central Market = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 107 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 88 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office = 79 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 106 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 109 nanosieverts per hour

Roma tomato from Central Market = 80 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 92 nanosieverts per hour

Dover sole = 101 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
     Microreactor technology is still under development. Several companies are working on various microreactor designs. Christina Carpenter is the director of the Division of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Conservation. During a March 11 House Resources meeting she said that the expected timeframe for proven microreactors to enter the commercial marketplace is five to seven years. Carpenter commented that a conventional nuclear power station requires a fifty-mile emergency planning zone. On the other hand, the emergency planning zone for a microreactor ends at the facility door. This makes it possible to employ local decision making for microreactor siting.
     Holdman told House Resources that, regardless of the proposed legislation, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) would be responsible for regulating the manufacture of microreactor power plants. Any project involving the installation of a microreactor in Alaska would require an NRC license. She said, “They have a very robust licensing process, both on the technology side and for site licensing.”
    A critical part of the NRC’s role would be to ensure that microreactors meet required safety standards. In addition, a microreactor installation would need the appropriate state permits, with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as the lead state agency.
     Holdman said that two features of microreactor designs would make the microreactors very safe. First, the nuclear fuel for the microreactors comes in the form of small pellets. The uranium used for nuclear fission is encased in layers of materials designed to withstand temperatures and pressures higher than those reached in the nuclear reactions. Second, the reactors have passive cooling systems that would cool the nuclear fuel without the need for operational intervention or a backup power supply in case of a system malfunction.
     The Alaska Power Association (APA) is the Alaskan trade association for electric utilities. In testimony to House Resources, the APA expressed its support for the propose legislation. Crystal Enkvist is the APA executive director. She said that microreactors, “are a viable source of power that have the potential to lower the cost of energy for Alaskans, decrease dependency on diesel, better position our state for economic development opportunities, and raise Alaska’s profile as a hub of energy innovation and energy independence.”
     Some public comments on the bills expressed concerns about the safety of nuclear power and the potential for nuclear contamination. Alaska Community Action on Toxins argued that nuclear power is not clean energy. They said that nuclear power is destructive throughout its life cycle from uranium mining, predominantly on indigenous lands, through the enrichment process to the problem of the disposal of radioactive waste.
     Some people worry about the safety of operating a nuclear facility in Alaska, especially given the high frequency of earthquakes in the state. Another issue that was raised was the potential for a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant at a remote location.
      Dr. Ashley Finan is the director of the Idaho National Laboratory. She addressed some of these concerns at the House Resources Committee meeting. She said that NRC regulations ensure that a nuclear facility has a high level of safety, combined with an emergency planning zone that represents the maximum area might be impacted by an accident. Despite some high-profile nuclear power station accidents over the years, the record of minimal contamination from nuclear energy has been very positive. Most nuclear contamination originates from a time of nuclear weapon production. Reactor technology is being developed to be compatible with seismic activity.
      Waste from nuclear power plants is very closely managed in the U.S. Although the U.S. does not currently have a spent nuclear fuel disposal site, the Department of Energy is seeking a site using a consent-based process that has worked successfully in Finland and Sweden. Finan said that she does not think that anyone is proposing a nuclear waste site in Alaska.

Ambient office =81 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 127 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 128 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 109 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 75 nanosieverts per hour

Part 1 of 2 Parts
     Two bills were introduced to the Alaska Legislator by Governor Mike Dunleavy recently. House Bill 299 and Senate Bill 177 would simplify the legal requirements for the implementation of nuclear microreactors in Alaska. This will potentially encourage the use of these devices in Alaska. A microreactor is a small, self-contained nuclear reactor that can generate electricity and produce heat. A microreactor would be constructed in a factory and then transported to a site for installation. Typically, the device should only need to be refueled about every ten years. Some designs call for the device to be totally replaced every ten years rather than refueled.
     Current Alaskan statues and associated regulations are designed to deal with massive, traditional nuclear power stations. The idea behind the two proposed bills is to make laws and regulations more appropriate for microreactors. This should make the use of this new technology more feasible. Essentially, the proposed changes to laws and regulations would enable local decisions making on the placement of microreactors by removing a current requirement to situate microreactors on land designated by the Legislature. With respect to microreactors, state agencies would not be required to conduct studies into changes in laws and regulations needed for the installation of nuclear power plants. A microreactor would be defined as a nuclear power reactor with a maximum output of fifty megawatts.
     Proponents of the potential use of microreactors in Alaska argue that such devices could become a clean source of energy, with zero carbon emissions. They could be utilized in combination with renewable energy sources. Gwen Holdman is director of the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. During a February 23 meeting of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, Holdman suggested that micronuclear power could be used on the Railbelt energy grid, as an alternative to battery energy storage, for regulating variable renewable energy sources. This could be done in conjunction with a proposed renewable portfolio standard for the Railbelt.
     In a March 11 meeting of the Alaska House Resources Committee, Holdman commented that the power output from microreactors could be appropriate for the power needs of hub communities at several locations around Alaska, including Anchorage, Fairbanks, Bethel, Nome, Kotzebue, Dillingham, Naknek and Tok. However, microreactors are unlikely to prove economically viable in small, isolated rural communities. In addition to being a source for electrical power, microreactors could provide heat for buildings and industrial processes. Calculating the exact economics of all this remains a work in progress.
     Currently, the U.S. Air Force plans to install a microreactor with a power output of about five megawatts at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks. This device is intended to supply some of the electricity and heat for the base. Installation of the system is scheduled to begin in 2025, with commercial operation beginning in 2027.
     Research into microreactors is focused on the Idaho National Laboratory’s Reactor Innovation Center. The Alaska Center for Energy and Power (ACEP) is collaborating with the Idaho National Laboratory and other parties to develop a roadmap for the potential use of microreactors in Alaska, said Holdman. ACEP has been studying the microreactor concept for several years.
     Jess Gehin is associate laboratory director at the Idaho National Laboratory. He told the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee that the Copper Valley Electric Association is working with a microreactor developer on a feasibility study for microreactor use.
Please read Part 2 next

Ambient office = 70 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 164 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 165 nanosieverts per hour

Jalapeno pepper from Central Market = 52 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 83 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 66 nanosieverts per hour