Nuclear Reactors, Materials & Waste

Sector Overview

With Catawba, Oconee, H. B. Robinson and Virgil C. Summer nuclear power reactors operating in South Carolina, as well as two fuel cycle facilities, nuclear power is a mainstay in our state.

The sector includes:

  • Nuclear power plants
  • Non-power nuclear reactors used for research, testing, and training
  • Manufacturers of nuclear reactors or components
  • Radioactive materials used primarily in medical, industrial, and academic settings
  • Nuclear fuel cycle facilities
  • Decommissioned nuclear power reactors
  • Transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear and radioactive waste

The sector is interdependent with other critical infrastructure sectors:

  • Chemical as a consumer of chemicals through the nuclear fuel cycle and at reactor sites
  • Energy as a supplier of electricity to our nation’s electrical grid
  • Healthcare and Public Health as a supplier of nuclear medicine, radiopharmaceuticals in the sterilization of blood and surgical supplies
  • Transportation Systems Sector, through the movement of radioactive materials