A year ago, nuclear professionals issued a “Manifesto” in which we wanted to state that we were professionals in the sector and what our reasons were for defending nuclear power plants as a strategic source of energy in Spain. We asked, but in return we promised that “for the continuity of the nuclear fleet to be a fact, we, for our part, offer the commitment of nuclear professionals to work in a safe, reliable and sustainable manner in the operation of these plants, so that their generating capacity remains intact for decades to come”.
Another year has passed, but our message remains the same: we defend the continuity of the operation of nuclear power plants and we bring to it the commitment of all of us who work in them to the safe, reliable and long-term operation of the plants. Nothing new so far, but we would also like to claim the right to speak about this sector, this industry, because we are the most familiar with everything that happens on a daily basis, and therefore we feel and consider ourselves authorised spokespersons and voices with criteria and professional experience to argue, explain and, if necessary, refute the myths, clichés and biased explanations that are often used to justify an energy policy that does not want to include nuclear power.
The fact is that we refuse to stand idly by or be mere observers when people talk about us. That is why we declare ourselves activists of knowledge, science and dissemination, and we show our knowledge whenever we have the opportunity. Knowledge does not take up space and we are convinced that more knowledge means less fear and uncertainty about nuclear energy.
Because of our training, because of our profession, we feel perfectly able to explain why nuclear power plants are safe (without going any further, simply because a nuclear power plant that was not safe would not operate), why we have the technical capacity to manage spent fuel, why we are capable of being an economically viable source of energy if we are not unfairly penalised, and in short, to talk about ourselves as any professional group can do, openly, without fear.
If you want to know how a nuclear power plant works or any other aspect related to this industry and this sector, ask the nuclear professionals. We make a great effort to reach out through our channels of dissemination and information, but we make an even greater effort to listen to and attend to those who wish to contact us.
We would like some of those who claim to be experts and who constantly question our work, our contribution to the Spanish energy system and our ability to continue to operate in the long term, to wish, if only once, to be in one of our plants, to see and live how we work, because we are simply people, we are professionals and, yes, we are nuclear and we are proud of it.
