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Chernobyl at 40 years: Looking back at Nuclear News
Sunday, April 26, at 1:23 a.m. local time will mark 40 years since the most severe nuclear accident in history: the meltdown of Unit 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union.
In the ensuing four decades, countless books, documentaries, articles, and conference sessions have examined Chernobyl’s history and impact from various angles. There is a similar abundance of outlooks in the archives of Nuclear News, where hundreds of scientists, advocates, critics, and politicians have shared their thoughts on Chernobyl over the years. Today, we will take a look at some highlights from the pages of NN to see how the story of Chernobyl evolved over the decades.
Kenneth Petersen is an executive consultant to the nuclear power industry, providing strategy, management, and technical consulting related to nuclear fuel and special nuclear material. Prior to his retirement in November 2021, Petersen was Exelon Generation Company’s (EGC’s) vice president for nuclear fuels. In this role, he provided governance and oversight for all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle for Exelon’s fleet of 21 operational reactors and three retired reactors. He led Exelon’s fuel purchasing, nuclear core design and related safety analyses, and spent fuel management.
Petersen has nearly three decades of experience purchasing nuclear fuel, and during his 12 years as ECG’s vice president for nuclear fuels, he oversaw the company’s $1 billion annual budget for nuclear fuel procurement and managed a nuclear fuel contract portfolio valued at over $5 billion. His fuel supply responsibilities included the development of risk management metrics and strategic decisions related to fuel, inventory levels, and pricing mechanisms. In addition, he developed nuclear core design and safety analysis skills. He played a key role in the technical aspects of utilizing fuel in the reactors and was a major industry advocate for accident tolerant fuel designs, including coated fuel rods, high burnup, and high enrichment.
Petersen’s long history with spent fuel and special nuclear material includes his involvement with executing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Standard Contract and, subsequently, EGC’s litigation and eventual settlement with the DOE. He also had governance and oversight over the installation of EGC-constructed independent spent fuel storage facilities. Petersen earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin and began his career Commonwealth Edison upon graduation in 1988.
Read Nuclear News from June 2023 for more on Ken Petersen.
