Steven Mirsky

"NuScale Small Modular Reactor and Micro Reactor Design Overview and Licensing Status"

ABSTRACT -- Scientific discoveries between 1895 and 1938 led to the first operational nuclear chain reaction fission reactor in 1942. Nuclear power plants have been operating in the United States for 63 years and there are currently 450 plants in 30 nations worldwide. NuScale Power, formed in 2007, has developed an innovative, simple, and safe Small Modular Reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant that is scheduled for US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) design certification in September 2020. The NuScale 60 Megawatt electric SMR design uses passive natural processes for operation and safety while significantly reducing material resources to produce economically competitive electricity. The NuScale SMR provides a diverse energy platform for cogeneration with wind power, desalination, hydrogen production, and oil refinery carbon emissions reduction. Design features offer first-of-a-kind nuclear power resiliency to electromagnetic pulses, cybersecurity and a loss of offsite power. First deployment of the NuScale SMR is planned for the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems at Idaho National Laboratory in 2026. Nuclear power in space began in 1961 and has included over 80 radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and nuclear fission reactors in orbital, lunar, and deep space missions. Many future space missions will require nuclear fission reactors to meet operational time and electric power requirements. NuScale is designing two micro reactors, each smaller than the SMR, to meet 1 to 50 Megawatt electric terrestrial and space markets.

SPEAKER -- Steven Mirsky, PE, is a Senior Technical Advisor in the NuScale Power Office of Technology working on micro reactor design and the evaluation of NuScale Small Modular Reactor (SMR) cogeneration applications. He has been with NuScale Power for 11 years including 5 years as the Manager of Licensing of the Rockville, Maryland office interacting with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). Mr. Mirsky is a licensed professional engineer with over 43 years of experience in nuclear power design, licensing, safety, and operations. He has worked for two operating U.S. nuclear power plant utilities and consulted on a wide spectrum of nuclear power plant designs for numerous U.S. and international government agencies and nuclear corporations. Mr. Mirsky is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and Cooper Union with a Master's Degree in Nuclear Engineering and Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, respectively. He has published over 150 conference papers, technical documents, and reports and has co-authored three patents. Mr. Mirsky is a Board Member of the Washington DC Section of the American Nuclear Society and a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

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