Small Reactors May Have Safety Edge After Japan, U.S. Says

Nuclear reactors that are about a third the size of those now used by power companies may have a safety edge over larger units after Japan’s reactor crisis, the U.S. Energy Department said.

The small modular reactors proposed by some manufacturers have a “lower power level” and “require less cooling after shutdown,” John Kelly, a deputy assistant energy secretary, said today at a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. They can be built underground “which should improve their security profile and may enhance their seismic safety,” Kelly said.