SALT LAKE CITY -- Scientists and engineers from 37 countries gathered Monday at a Salt Lake City conference to discuss how to extend the life of nuclear power plants worldwide.
The need to keep reactors operating safely was underscored by the tsunami that devastated a nuclear power plant in Japan last year, officials said at the opening of the conference.
"There is a need to urgently respond to public confidence" in nuclear power, said Alexander Bychkov, deputy director general for the International Atomic Energy Agency and head of its department of nuclear energy.
The organization's Utah conference is bringing together the best minds in nuclear plant safety. Nearly 300 were registered for the start Monday of the four-day conference. Idaho Gov. Butch Otter was on hand to invite conference-goers to a tour Friday of the Idaho National Laboratory, which is working to make new generations of reactors safer and more economical to operate.
"Nuclear must be an important part of our energy future," Otter said Monday. ""We need to deal with these difficult and challenging issues in a way that the public can embrace."
The lifecycle of a nuclear power plant is generally considered to be 40 years, but 71 of the 104 operating units in the U.S. have received license extensions to operate for 60 years, said Brian Holian, director of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's license renewal branch.
However, many components of a nuclear power plant need to be dug up or replaced. Holian projected images of corroded plumbing, blistered concrete and stressed electrical cables that could escalate dangers in the event of an accident.
"Aging management is a continuous program. It's not sufficient to just say you have a program and a book on the shelf," he said.
The International Atomic Energy is holding its first U.S. conference on aging nuclear power plants in Salt Lake City. Previous conferences were held in Budapest in 2002 and Shanghai in 2007.
The conference involves highly technical sessions for hours each day, along with panel discussions and an exhibition.
Bychkov said 354 of the world's 436 nuclear reactors are 20 years or older.
In the U.S., many were initially licensed to operate for 40 years, but 10 of them have already reached that milestone and continue to operate, Holian said.
Another 15 U.S. reactors approaching 40 and are seeking license extensions, he said.
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