PaR Nuclear WIN Visits Area High Schools

PaR Nuclear's Women in Nuclear group visited area high schools in May to give presentations on nuclear energy and the industry. Susan Mortensen and Sara Mancell visited Forest Lake High School's 10th grade Chemistry in the Community class to present on different forms of energy, including the many benefits of nuclear energy and the wide variety of career options in the industry. The physical science class at Andover High School, consisting of 270 9th grade students, learned the basics of generating power from nuclear energy and the benefits of nuclear energy over other generation methods from Sara Mancell. Mary Lindholm presented information on various sources of radiation and how PaR Nuclear’s field service technicians and others in the industry protect themselves. All of the students calculated their annual radiation dose and learned that they are well within a safe range. The students in all of the classes answered and asked a lot of questions (with a little incentive in the form of candy!) during the presentations. Students noted the following key takeaways:

• Nucler power is safe.
• A nuclear power plant is different from a nuclear bomb.
• Spent nuclear fuel can be recycled.
• Minnesota has a moratorium on building new nuclear power plants.

PaR Nuclear's WIN group has already been invited back to both Forest Lake High School and Andover High School to present to next year's classes.

Rep. Paul Gardner Visits PaR Nuclear

District 53a Rep. Paul Gardner visited Westinghouse Electric Co. subsidiary PaR Nuclear on Thursday, May 27. Gardner met with PaR Nuclear President Bill Burns, Sales and Marketing Manager James Empson and representatives of PaR Nuclear’s Women in Nuclear organization to discuss nuclear energy and the ban on building new nuclear power plants in Minnesota. It was a great opportunity to exchange information on nuclear energy and to discuss Minnesota’s energy future. A facility tour followed the discussion. PaR Nuclear plans to host similar meetings with other legislators following this fall’s elections.