Beth Beloff, Founder and Principal of Beth Beloff & Associates, introduces the NuClean initiative. The NuClean Kick-Off workshop was held on Nov. 7, 2013 at the Handlery Union Square Hotel in San Francisco, CA, co-located with the AIChE 2013 Annual Meeting. For more information on NuClean, visit: http://www.aiche.org/cei/conferences/nuclean-workshop/2013. For more information on AIChE's Center for Energy Initiatives (CEI), visit: http://www.aiche.org/cei.

1. NuClean: A Center of Excellence for
Nuclear Waste Safety and Remediation
Beth Beloff
AIChE
Annual Meeting November 7, 2013
San Francisco

2. Agenda
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Introduction
The Need
Organization
Goals
Issues to address
Why AIChE
What makes Nuclean unique
Workshop
Next Steps
Discussion

3. Background
• Globally, concerns over safety of nuclear waste - from
commercial and defense operations - are driving
peoples’ perception of the risks posed by nuclear
power.
• Shortfalls in providing reliable factual information
accessible to the public in order for them to effectively
address their risks and drive toward the best solutions.
• Questions regarding current nuclear waste clean up
efforts.

4. The Need
• For a neutral professional voice that can:
– provide trusted, factual information to diverse
stakeholders and communities regarding safety issues and
uncertainties associated with management of nuclear
waste (from both defense legacy and civilian energy)
– improve understanding of the issues
– drive development of solutions
– increase confidence in nuclear waste processing, storage
and handling

5. NuClean
• Endorsed to move forward by CEI
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RANTC
Environmental Division
CTOC/CDFO
Nuclear Engineering Division
North American Mixing Forum
• Engaged with many people inside and outside AIChE
(UNM, UC Berkeley School of Public Health, Rice University Sociology
Dept, LANL, ANS, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear
Safety, GE, DOE, NSF, NETL, PNNL ….. )
• Defined scope and location of first workshop
• Refined the focus

6. Who
• Organization
– AIChE Center for Energy Initiatives
• Co-Chair
– Beth Beloff, Beth Beloff & Associates and
Bridges to Sustainability Institute
– Stuart Arm, Nuclear Engineering Division, WRPS
– Richard Calabrese, NAMF, University of Maryland
– Vasilios Manousiouthakis, Environmental Div, UCLA
– David Kosson, Vanderbilt University, CRESP

7. Why AIChE?
• AIChE provides an independent and unbiased viewpoint
towards nuclear waste treatment and disposal.
• AIChE members have an active interest in all forms of energy
and process technology with no particular vested interest in
nuclear.
• AIChE offers the perspective of the commercial chemical
industry to nuclear waste management, particularly regarding
technology application, process safety, process development,
analysis and simulation, chemical separations, waste treatment,
environmental remediation, and sustainability, a holistic
perspective that would benefit the nuclear industry.
• AIChE can address the current and projected future shortage of
professionals educated in critical areas supporting national
needs in nuclear materials processing and waste management.

8. NuClean Goals
To establish NuClean as a nuclear waste management center of
excellence to leverage chemical engineering expertise on
nuclear waste management and engage with broader
professional efforts on underlying multi-disciplinary public and
technical community information, research, outreach and
education needs.
To be an unbiased forum for multiple stakeholders to develop a
common understanding of concerns and expectations associated
with nuclear waste management, from both commercial and
defense activities, legacy and present, and to encourage
education and professional development of stakeholders with
respect to these topics.

9. NuClean Goals
To be a source for best practices in risk assessment, education,
process development and application of technologies for
protecting human health and the environment related to nuclear
waste management and disposal, as well as potential
‘sustainable’ nuclear fuel cycle technologies. NuClean potentially
can host applicable communities of practice.

10. Questions to Address
• NuClean will address questions/issues related to
waste
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identification, data collection
transportation, retrieval
monitoring
remediation
processing, transformation
storage
risk assessment
risk perception and communication
(potential for sustainable nuclear in the future)

11. Gaps and Needs
Government: Direction and $$
R&D
Best Practices
Engineering Practice
Community

12. Why is NuClean Unique
• NuClean can play the role of objective
facilitator/mediator in bringing parties together
to understand the issues, help develop holistic
solutions, and help resolve conflicts.
• The methodologies developed for NuClean
should be applicable to other areas of conflict
between technological and environmental issues
and the community.

13. Workshop: Who to Engage
• The AIChE community: to start the conversation
about the role of chemical engineers in this effort
and to define the initial focus and steps for NuClean;
however, important to engage people from the
broader community to inform the scope of the
problem.
• Next Workshop: Collaborative, cross-disciplinary and
cross-sectoral, with experts from science, technology,
public health, business, academic, government,
community and Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGO) working together.

14. Workshop Objectives
• To bring together stakeholders primarily from the
chemical engineering community to clarify and
focus NuClean efforts on key information gaps and
needs, and to formulate a plan of action for
NuClean implementation.
• To form the basis for a future workshop, Spring
2014, to continue to engage the chemical
engineering community as well as a broader cross
section of stakeholders, in developing an
implementation plan for a nuclear waste safety and
remediation center of excellence.

15. Workshop Nov. 7
Introductions and Background on NuClean Initiative: (Beth Beloff)
Project overview; Objectives for the workshop; Why chemical engineering? Why AIChE?
Overview: Nuclear waste management - Technical, Political, Regulatory
Challenges regarding Commercial and Legacy Waste (Richard V Calabrese)
State-of-the-art in technologies and organizations for responding to current nuclear waste
processing, storage and remediation issues, the US Science Policy, and management issues
Assessment and Perception of Risks Associated with Nuclear Waste (Stuart T Arm)
Risk assessment and how the public perceives these risks and need for communities to know about
waste streams and their consequences
Knowledge Gaps and Needs: Education, Research and Development, Community
(Vasilios Manousiouthakis)
Group Discussion: Defining the path forward (All)
What are the gaps and needs? Who is needed? How to organize? How to fund?

16. Workshop Nov. 7
8:30 – 9:00 Welcome and Introductions
9:00 – 9:30 Background on NuClean Initiative: Project overview; Objectives for the workshop; Why
chemical engineering? Why AIChE? – Beth Beloff
9:30 – 10:15 Overview: Nuclear waste management - Technical, Political, Regulatory
Challenges regarding Commercial and Legacy Waste, including the state-of-the-art
in technologies and organizations for responding to current nuclear waste processing, storage and
remediation issues and the US Science Policy - Richard V Calabrese, moderator
David Kosson, Vanderbilt University, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering, Director of
Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP)
10:45 – 11:45 Assessment and Perception of Risks Associated with Nuclear Waste, including how
the public perceives these risks and need for communities to know about waste streams and their
consequences – Stuart T Arm, moderator
Chris Whipple, Environ, Principal, Radioactive Waste Management, Public Health and Environmental Risk
Assessment and Management, and Risk Communication; Ed Jones, LLNL, Deputy Associate Program
Leader for Risk Assessment, System Engineering, and Human Performance;
12:30 – 1:30 Knowledge Gaps and Needs: Education, Research and Development, Community
– Vasilios Manousiouthakis, moderator
Per Peterson, UC Berkeley, Chair Nuclear Engineering; Steve Krahn, Vanderbilt University, Professor of the
Practice of Nuclear Environmental Engineering, Nuclear Safety and Nuclear Separations Roadmap;
Marian Naranjo, HOPE (Honor Our Pueblo Existence)
1:30 – 4:00 Group Discussion:
What are the gaps and needs? Who is needed? How to proceed? How to fund?
4:00-5:00 Review, Summary and Path Forward

17. Workshop Sponsors
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AIChE Environmental Division,
AIChE Nuclear Engineering Division
North American Mixing Forum
Support for the launch of this effort is provided by
the Center for Energy Initiatives

18. Next Steps
• Synthesize results from organizational workshop with
input from participants
• Develop plans for next extended 2.5 day workshop Spring
2014 Washington DC area
• Develop funding: $45,000 expenses, $12,000 food,
($30,000 hotel) = approx. $60,000
• Invite panelists and attendees, including those from Nov.
7; request white papers (50-60 delegates)
• Develop roadmap for Center of Excellence: what, who,
where, how
• Place all presentations of AIChE website

19. Web Links to Presentations
• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/beloff-nuclean-ppt
• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/kosson-nu-clean112013rev11
• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/ed-jones-llnuclean20131
• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/whipple-nu-clean20131
• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/per-petersonpostblueribboncommissionupdates117131
• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/steve-krahn-vanderbiltpresentation1
• http://www.slideshare.net/ChEnected/naranjo-nucleanpresentationfinalfinal1