Guest opinion: Women are critical to nuclear energy. So why is League of Women Voters against it?

We were disappointed recently to see an organization that advocates for women actively work against them.

In testimony this legislative session in Olympia, and on its website, the Washington chapter of the League of Women Voters has advocated against the nuclear energy industry, using little more than fear and speculation.

One League representative, Elyette Weinstein, testified that small modular nuclear reactors are “dangerous.” Weinstein offered no supporting data or scientific evidence to this effect. The truth is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission just certified the NuScale Power SMR design as essentially meltdown-proof. That is a huge safety advancement that many women, we are proud to say, played a role in achieving.

Nuclear energy is as safe, or safer, than any other form of energy available. No member of the public has ever been injured or killed in the entire 50-year history of commercial nuclear power in the U.S. In fact, recent studies have shown that it’s safer to work in a nuclear power plant than an office.

In another bit of testimony regarding tax credits, Weinstein complained that private nuclear companies are pushing for and investing in nuclear energy development. Let’s look at a couple of those companies.

Transatomic Power was co-founded by Leslie Dewan, who graduated from MIT with a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering. The design by Dewan and her colleagues for a molten salt reactor shows tremendous promise for providing carbon-free electricity with enhanced safety.

Or Caroline Cochran, co-founder of Oklo, and a nuclear engineer from MIT. Cochran is working on a small reactor that could use uranium, thorium or used nuclear fuel to produce power.

Further, Kristine Svinicki, Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman, and Nuclear Energy Institute CEO Maria Korsnick are but two of the prominent women at the forefront of the nuclear industry. Grassroots organization Mothers for Nuclear has been very successful in bringing to light the facts about nuclear energy and the importance for supporting low carbon-energy goals for the U.S. and around the world. A local middle school in Richland was named after Leona Libby, an American physicist who worked on Enrico Fermi’s first nuclear reactor. Since March is Women’s History Month, it would be a good time to revisit the role women have historically played in discovering and developing nuclear science.

At Columbia Generating Station, the third largest generator of clean electricity in Washington state, women are contributing to the success of the plant at every level. Nuclear energy is a profession that values top performers who use their knowledge, expertise and training on a daily basis. Nuclear energy provides opportunities to women in wide career fields, from operations and maintenance, to engineering, security and information technology along with many others.

New nuclear energy plants will provide thousands of jobs to women across the country and around the world, while also ensuring our families have clean air to breathe. The innovation taking place in the field of nuclear energy has women taking a leading role in an industry that has, for decades, been dominated by men. We think that is worth celebrating, not denigrating.

We would encourage the Washington League of Women Voters to do more to educate its staff and members on nuclear energy, as we have done, before advocating positions that ultimately hurt women, not help us.

This story was originally published March 24, 2018 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Guest opinion: Women are critical to nuclear energy. So why is League of Women Voters against it?."