OHIO ATOMIC PRESS PODCAST
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced three new federally backed nuclear research projects under its GAIN (Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear) program—raising renewed concerns from environmental and public safety advocates about the government’s continued investment in high-risk nuclear technologies.
The awards, framed as "vouchers," don't provide cash to companies directly. Instead, they allow businesses access to taxpayer-funded national laboratories and DOE technical staff to pursue projects aimed at modernizing components for nuclear reactors. DOE says these
efforts will support "safe and affordable" nuclear energy—but critics argue they only deepen U.S. dependence on a controversial
energy source still struggling with radioactive waste, aging infrastructure, and unresolved environmental contamination.
Radiation-Tested “Smart Cables” for Aging Reactors
AiMiLight Sensors and Intelligent Systems Inc. (AiMiLi), a Pittsburgh-based startup, will collaborate with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to test a fiber-embedded prototype cable that can detect radiation and heat in real time. Dubbed “smart tape,” the technology is being developed to monitor electric cables operating in the high-radiation, high-temperature conditions found inside reactors.
The project, titled NE-25-37556, will use DOE’s Accelerated and Real-time Experimental Nodal Assessment (ARENA) Cable Test Bed and High Exposure Facility to simulate harsh reactor environments. AiMiLi claims the cable system—backed by machine learning and AI—could assist in condition-based maintenance and prolong the life of old cables. But nuclear watchdogs say that improving surveillance of failing systems doesn’t address the fundamental risks of continuing to run decaying infrastructure.
TRISO Fuel Testing Without Destruction
Standard Nuclear Inc. (Oak Ridge, TN) is seeking to reform how nuclear fuel particles are tested. The project, labeled NE-25-37551, focuses on developing an alternative to the destructive LECO method currently used to analyze the carbon and oxygen content in TRISO fuel kernels. TRISO fuels, often branded as a “safer” next-gen option, are at the core of many advanced reactor proposals.
The company will partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s LAMDA facility to calibrate its non-destructive technique. While pitched as a move toward efficiency and reduced contamination, the project ultimately supports mass production of fuels still plagued by long-term waste challenges and uncertainties around accident resilience.
Pumping Problems in Liquid Metal Reactors
Hayward Tyler, Inc. (Colchester, VT), a legacy pump manufacturer, will work with Argonne National Laboratory on NE-25-37560, a materials study focused on sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs)—a reactor type long criticized for its safety risks, including potential fires caused by sodium’s violent reaction with water and air.
Their research will test new bearing materials that could replace cobalt in high-stress reactor components. Cobalt, which is increasingly costly and imported from geopolitically unstable regions, also poses radiological hazards after activation. The project aims to identify wear-resistant materials compatible with stainless steel and molten sodium under real-world reactor conditions.
Bigger Picture: High-Tech Fixes, Same Old Risks
Although DOE frames these GAIN awards as cutting-edge innovation, critics argue the projects fail to confront the deeper flaws of nuclear energy. Improving sensors or fuel testing methods doesn't resolve the burden of waste management, nor does it eliminate risks associated with catastrophic accidents or routine environmental releases.
Moreover, many of the technologies being advanced—like TRISO fuel or sodium-cooled reactors—have been tested and shelved before due to cost, safety, and proliferation risks. Watchdogs warn that branding them “advanced” doesn’t make them inherently safe.
With this announcement marking the second GAIN voucher round of FY2025, the DOE continues to double down on nuclear expansion—even as communities near legacy sites like the Hanford Site, Savannah River, and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant still contend with decades of radioactive contamination and generational health consequences.
THE NUCLEAR GAMBLE
Unmasking the Risks of DOE's "Advanced" Nuclear Programs and America's Radioactive Legacy
A Growing, Unmanaged Threat
86,000+
Metric Tons of Highly Radioactive Waste
This is the current stockpile of spent nuclear fuel stored at 77 sites across the U.S., a ticking time bomb with no permanent disposal solution. The Department of Energy's GAIN program, under the guise of "innovation," is set to accelerate this crisis.
GAIN: Gateway for Accelerated Risk
The Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program prioritizes rapid commercialization over caution, channeling taxpayer money into high-risk technologies while demonstrating a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility.
Terminated "Clean Energy" Grants
$3.7 Billion
Deemed "Not Economically Viable"
Recent DOE actions reveal a pattern of poor financial oversight. This lack of rigor raises grave concerns about the billions being funneled into unproven nuclear projects under programs like GAIN, which critics warn curtails necessary oversight and financial controls.
A Mandate for Danger
GAIN's mission explicitly seeks to "accelerate" deployment, a goal that is fundamentally at odds with the meticulous, time-consuming safety protocols demanded by nuclear technology.
GAIN Mandate
"Accelerate commercialization"
Weakened Oversight
"Remove red tape" to speed up projects
Increased Public & Environmental Risk
Inadequate testing, overlooked flaws, and premature deployment
The Illusion of "Advanced" Technology
The term "advanced" is a deceptive label that obscures the reality: these new reactor designs introduce new and often greater risks than the current fleet.
TRISO Fuel: A Waste Nightmare
While touted for its "resilience," TRISO fuel creates a massive, unresolved waste problem, generating far more spent fuel by volume than conventional reactors.
This chart illustrates that for the same amount of energy produced, TRISO-based reactors discharge an enormous volume of spent nuclear fuel—up to 16 times more than Light Water Reactors. This exacerbates the nation's waste crisis before a viable disposal solution for this new waste stream even exists.
Sodium-Cooled Reactors: A Legacy of Failure
The history of Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs) is a litany of catastrophic failures, dangerous sodium fires, and abandoned projects, driven by the coolant's violent reactivity with air and water.
1959: U.S. Sodium Reactor Experiment
Partial meltdown after coolant became contaminated, an incident exacerbated by operator error.
1995: Japan's Monju Reactor
Major sodium leak and fire, followed by a cover-up scandal that led to a 15-year shutdown and eventual decommissioning.
1980-1997: Russia's BN-600
Experienced 27 sodium leaks, 14 of which resulted in dangerous fires, highlighting the technology's inherent instability.
Global Abandonment
Fast reactor programs in the US, UK, France, Germany, and Italy have all largely failed and been shelved due to insurmountable safety risks and economic non-viability.
An Unending Burden: America's Waste Crisis
With the Yucca Mountain repository abandoned, the U.S. has no long-term plan for its nuclear waste. The only "solution" on the table involves unprecedented transportation risks.
A Growing Mountain of Spent Fuel
The nation's stockpile of highly radioactive waste grows by over 2,000 metric tons every year, stored indefinitely at aging reactor sites.
This trend line shows the relentless increase in spent nuclear fuel. Each new reactor supported by the GAIN program directly contributes to this escalating, unmanageable national security and environmental threat.
"Mobile Chernobyls": 100,000 Shipments at Risk
Any plan for a central repository requires moving deadly waste through 44 states, endangering 123 million Americans living near transport routes.
Highlighted states represent the proposed truck and rail routes for nuclear waste. These shipments would become mobile targets for accidents or terrorism, distributing risk across the entire nation.
Legacy of Poison: A Public Health Crisis
Decades of negligence at federal nuclear sites have created hotbeds of contamination, poisoning communities and leaving a legacy of disease and environmental injustice.
☢️ Hanford, WA
"The most contaminated site in the Western Hemisphere." 177 leaking underground tanks threaten the Columbia River with radioactive and toxic waste.
- Plutonium
- Strontium-90
- Chromium
- High-Level Waste Sludge
☣️ Savannah River, SC
Persistent pollution of air and water. Radioactive cesium found at 1000x background levels in creeks, with toxic air pollutants detected miles from the site.
- Radiocesium-137
- Tritium
- Mercury
- Nitric Acid
☠️ Portsmouth, OH
A "valley poisoned" by a deadly cocktail of contaminants, leading to a public health catastrophe. A local middle school was closed due to uranium contamination.
- Enriched Uranium
- Plutonium-238
- Neptunium-237
- Technetium-99 & TCE
Pike County, OH: The Human Cost
The community surrounding the Portsmouth plant suffers from tragically high cancer rates, a direct consequence of decades of regulatory failure and toxic exposure.
This chart compares cancer statistics for Pike County, OH, to the U.S. average. The significantly higher rates of both incidence and mortality are a stark illustration of the devastating, real-world impact of the nuclear industry's legacy of contamination.
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