I am a senior nuclear chemist. I work for the National Nuclear Laboratory at Sellafield.
All of the samples that I work with are radioactive.
I measure the chemistry and radioactivity of nuclear materials. My main expertise is mass spectrometry and isotopics.
Of all the branches of modern science, nuclear science in particular bears fruit that can help solve some of the most daunting challenges that beset us. From clean energy production, to climate change reversal, to space exploration, and to medicine, nuclear science touches all corners of our modern world. It is an exciting time to be a nuclear scientist.
Net zero is impossible without nuclear power. Total UK energy independence is impossible without nuclear power. Powering a technological and energy-intensive society without ruining the natural environment is impossible without nuclear power.
While it has its own challenges — long-term nuclear waste disposal, for example — it is the most environmentally friendly form of large-scale electricity generation. If nuclear technologies are embraced wholeheartedly, nuclear power could give the world essentially unlimited energy.
Historic stockpiles of nuclear waste at Sellafield are being ‘mined’ for isotopes and elements not normally found on Earth. This exotic chemistry is helping solve problems in innovative ways, like new ways to fuel spacecraft and designing new cancer treatments.
Exaggeration, misunderstanding, and alarmism — too often perpetuated by anti-nuclear campaigners and apocalyptic environmentalists— are the antitheses of the truthfulness so desperately needed in the conversation around nuclear.
The world deserves solutions to its problems; nuclear can provide many of those solutions. My hope is that by outlining a positive case for nuclear — whilst addressing the unique challenges that it brings to the table — I will help shift the needle in its favour.