UW-Madison nuclear expert to testify April 6 about U.S. reactor safety

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Japan and the effects of the resulting tsunami on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, Michael Corradini, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of engineering physics, will present testimony Wednesday, April 6 to a U.S. House subcommittee about the state of U.S. nuclear plants and safety practices.

The subcommittee hearing begins at 9 a.m. EDT and concludes at 11:30 a.m. Corradini will be available via cell phone at noon at (608) 358-6568 or corradini@engr.wisc.edu.

In his testimony to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Corradini will address the effects of the natural disaster on the Fukushima-Daiichi plants, the effects of the accident progression on the surrounding region, and how the United States nuclear industry can learn from those events.

Corradini recently was appointed co-chair of the newly formed American Nuclear Society Special Commission on Fukushima Daiichi. The committee will examine the major technical aspects of the Japan accident to help U.S. policymakers and the public better understand the consequences of the accident and its lessons for the U.S. nuclear industry.

Corradini is a member of the U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Energ Advisory Committee and chair of its Reactor Technology Subcommittee. He is a member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Advisory Committee for Reactor Safeguards and a member of the French Atomic Energy Scientific Committee. He also is involved in national nuclear energy activities for the U.S. National Academies.