Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise (2012)
Chapter: Executive Summary
The growing use of nuclear medicine, the potential expansion of nuclear power generation, and the urgent needs to protect the nation against external nuclear threats, to maintain our nuclear weapons stockpile, and to manage the nuclear wastes generated in past decades, require a substantial, highly trained, and exceptionally talented workforce. This report analyzes the demand for and supply of nuclear and radiochemistry experts, a major component of this workforce (Chapters 1, 2, and 8). None of these areas, considering a range of reasonable scenarios looking to the future, is likely to experience a decrease in demand for expertise (Chapters 4-7). However, many in the current workforce are approaching retirement age and the number of students opting for careers in nuclear and radiochemistry has decreased dramatically over the past few decades. In order to avoid a gap in these critical areas, increases in student interest in these careers, in the research and educational capacity of universities and colleges, and sector specific on-the-job training will be needed (Chapters 3 and 9). Concise recommendations are given for actions to avoid a shortage of nuclear and radiochemists in the future (Chapter 10).
