‘Nuclear is necessary’: Miss America 2023 champions energy source

LONGWORTH: THERE’S RENEWED INTEREST IN NUCLEAR POWER AS A CLEAN, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOURCE IN THE US.

HISTORICALLY, IT’S FACED CRITICISM OVER SAFETY.

BUT IT COULD BE PIVOTAL IN TRANSITIONING AWAY FROM FOSSIL FUELS.

GRACE STANKE, CROWNED MISS AMERICA 2023, IS A PROPONENT OF THE ENERGY SOURCE.

SHE JOINS US NOW TO DISCUSS IT.

GRACE, YOU’RE STUDYING TO BECOME A NUCLEAR ENGINEER AND YOU’VE PROMOTED CLEAN ENERGY WITH YOUR PLATFORM. WHY IS THAT?

STANKE: FOR ME PERSONALLY, IT REALLY STEMMED FROM DURING MY STUDIES AS A AS GOING INTO NUCLEAR ENGINEERING. SO MANY PEOPLE HAD QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT I WOULD DO WITH THIS DEGREE. AND OFTENTIMES, THEY ASSUMED THE WORST WITH THIS DEGREE WHEN AT THE END OF THE DAY, NUCLEAR SCIENCE IS REALLY ALL AROUND US. IT’S HELPING CURE CANCER. MY DAD IS A TWO TIME CANCER SURVIVOR BECAUSE OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE. IT POWERS 20% OF AMERICA WITH CLEAN AND RELIABLE ELECTRICITY. AND I DECIDED TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT IT. LET’S TALK ABOUT NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND HOW WE’VE CAN POSITIVELY USE THE ATOMS, THE SCIENCE OF THE ATOM FOR A PEACEFUL PURPOSE.

LONGWORTH: WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE SOME COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS OR MYTHS AROUND NUCLEAR ENERGY THAT YOU OFTEN ENCOUNTER?

STANKE: ONE OF THE BIGGEST ONES IS THE SAFETY RIGHT? PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT CHERNOBYL AND FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI, WHICH IS VERY VALID, THOSE TWO WERE VERY MAJOR DISASTERS. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT’S ACTUALLY A STATEMENT BY OSHA HAS BEEN COME OUT HAS COME OUT WHERE IT’S SAFER TO WORK IN A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT THAN A BOOKSTORE. ADDITIONALLY, IT’S A PLACE WHERE WE ARE DOUBLE CHECKING, TRIPLE CHECKING EVERYTHING WE DO, THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY OF A NUCLEAR ENGINEER, IS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM. AND THAT SAYS A LOT ABOUT WHAT OUR POWER INDUSTRY IS LIKE WITH POWERING 20% OF AMERICA FOR 60 YEARS. AND HOW FEW FATALITIES HAVE COME FROM THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY OVERALL, FROM THE ENERGY INDUSTRY. IT’S BEEN INCREDIBLE.

LONGWORTH: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT NUCLEAR ENERGY THAT YOU THINK PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW?

STANKE: YES, ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS ALSO ONE OF THE BIGGER CONCERNS IS SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL OR WHAT PEOPLE CALL NUCLEAR WASTE. THEY’RE CONCERNED ABOUT RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS THAT COME OUT OF A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. AND THE ONLY TYPE OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL THAT WE REALLY WORK WITH IN TERMS OF NUCLEAR WASTE IS THAT SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND ADDITIONALLY, SOME CONTAMINATED MATERIALS LIKE IF A SET OF GLOVES GETS CONTAMINATED, OR TOOLS OR THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT THE PRESSING ISSUE IS ON THAT SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL. WHAT’S REALLY COOL IS WE HAVE SO MANY SCIENTIFIC SOLUTIONS FOR THIS PROBLEM. REPROCESSING IS OCCURRING WORLDWIDE, AND COUNTRIES LIKE FRANCE AND JAPAN WILL BE COMING ONLINE WITH REPROCESSING IN 2024. INDIA DOES IT SO MANY OTHER NATIONS ARE REPROCESSING THEIR NEW SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL. NOW, BY REPROCESSING, I MEAN, WE’RE TAKING 90 TO 95% OF THAT SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL AND ESSENTIALLY JUST RECYCLING IT, WE CAN PUT IT BACK INTO THE SAME TYPE OF FUEL, WE CAN CREATE NEW FUEL WITH IT, AND PUT IT RIGHT BACK INTO A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT TO CREATE CLEAN, RELIABLE ELECTRICITY FOR AMERICANS TO USE.

LONGWORTH: SO THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE NEWS IN THE PAST WEEK THAT I THOUGHT WAS RELEVANT. A SMALL MODULAR NUCLEAR REACTOR POWER PLANT WAS CANCELED IN THE PAST FEW DAYS. THAT WAS A NEW SKILL POWER PROJECT, AND IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FIRST OF ITS KIND. THE IDEA WAS THAT IT WOULD HAVE REPLACED THE POWER FROM COAL PLANTS THAT ARE CLOSING. DO YOU HAVE ANY REACTION TO THAT? THOUGHTS ON IT?

STANKE: YEAH, SO RIGHT NOW WITHIN THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY, WE’VE GOT ALL OF THIS EXCITING INNOVATION WITH COMPANIES LIKE NEW SCALE, AND SO MANY OTHERS THAT ARE DEVELOPING THIS HIGH LEVEL TECHNOLOGY THAT TRULY HAS SOLVED SO MANY OF NUCLEUS PROBLEMS. HOWEVER, WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS A STRUGGLE WITH SUPPLY CHAIN CATCHING UP TO WHAT MIGHT BE DEMAND, BUT DEMAND DOESN’T WANT TO SHOW UP UNTIL THE SUPPLY CHAIN IS AVAILABLE EITHER. SO WE’VE KIND OF HAVE THIS CHICKEN AND EGG PROBLEM. AND WHAT WE NEED IS BOLD LEADERSHIP. WE NEED BOLD LEADERSHIP, FROM POLITICIANS FROM THE GOVERNMENTAL STANDPOINT TO SEE SUPPORT HAPPENING TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES, JUST LIKE THE ONE IN UTAH THAT WAS LIKE, HEY, WE’RE NOT REALLY SURE THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A VIABLE OPTION FOR US RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THIS CHICKEN EGG PROBLEM. AND WE NEED TO SEE THAT BOLD LEADERSHIP IN ORDER TO SEE THESE THINGS HAPPEN.

LONGWORTH: SPEAKING OF LEADERSHIP, I SAW THAT YOU WERE MEETING WITH LAWMAKERS IN DC RECENTLY, WHERE THERE ARE TAKEAWAYS THAT YOU HAD REGARDING NUCLEAR ENERGY.

STANKE: YOU KNOW, POLITICALLY, I FIND IT VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE I THINK BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE SUPPORT NUCLEAR NUCLEAR REALLY IS A BIPARTISAN ISSUE, WHICH IS HIGHLY, HIGHLY UNUSUAL IN TODAY’S CURRENT POLITICAL SOCIETY. BUT IT’S NOT ALWAYS VISIBLY SEEN THAT WAY. YOU KNOW, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, EVERYBODY IS SAYING, YEAH, WE NEED NUCLEAR. YEAH, WE NEED TO SEE THIS HAPPENING. BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN, WHEN IT COMES TO SAYING IT PUBLICLY AND SUPPORTING IT, IT’S A TOTALLY DIFFERENT STORY. AND I THINK THAT THAT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN IT COMES TO WHO YOU’RE VOTING FOR IN THE BOOTHS. WHAT POLITICIANS ARE WE PUTTING INTO OFFICE, I THINK MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE SEEING THAT AS AMERICA CONTINUES TO TRANSITION TO ZERO CARBON ENERGY. NUCLEAR IS NECESSARY TO PROVIDE THAT BASE LOAD SOURCE OF POWER THAT ALWAYS ON ALWAYS ACCESSIBLE, ALWAYS RELIABLE ENERGY, AND POLITICIANS ARE STARTING TO SEE THAT TOO. IT JUST MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT SLOWER THAN THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

LONGWORTH: OKAY, GRACE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.