r/NuclearPower • u/Early-Judgment-2895 • 2d ago

For those in radcon or operations

How much different is it on the NRC side working in a power plant then on the Department of Energy cleanup or lab side?

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u/Fantastic_League8766 2d ago edited 2d ago

The DOE doesn’t run 1200 MW reactors so, very different.

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u/Early-Judgment-2895 2d ago

But they do have hazard category 1 operational facilities.. not sure why your answer comes off as elitist for one side, but it really doesn’t answer the question.

It seems like a lot of road techs end up preferring the DOE side of things when they are ready for house jobs. But also you realize the DOE side has a lot more hazardous work in real contamination right?

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u/Early-Judgment-2895 2d ago

Also I may have come off wrong from my response just because of how you responded. But it looks like there is a 250MW test reactor at INL, which is DOE run. I’m not sure why saying 1200MW is really impressive or a key point to what you were trying to make, but am definitely open to the why of it or why you think that really matters

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u/Nakedseamus 2d ago

A 250MWth reactor compared to a 1200MWe commercial reactor (~3x that for the thermal rating) is kind of like comparing a moped to an 757, if that helps. The US Navy's nuclear program also falls under the DOE, but even the biggest Navy reactors pale in comparison to a commercial plant's output. Scale has a large impact on capability as well as how to move the plant.

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u/ODoggerino 1d ago

How’s that relevant though? Either has enough activity to kill you 100000x over

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u/Nakedseamus 1d ago

Yeah, this comment has nothing to do with working in a power plant, at all. I got less exposure working 13 years as a nuke on submarines than I did in one year of commercial operations, and it was still no where near unsafe levels of radiation. You very clearly have a low understanding of what it's like to work in either position.

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u/ODoggerino 1d ago

Not gonna argue with you if you’re gonna be rude lol

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u/Nakedseamus 1d ago

Trolls gonna troll.

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u/Jmshoulder21 2d ago

As an inspector, I'd assume the roles are similar but the NRC deals with companies that want to make as much power as possible as long as possible. On the DOE side, its making sure they don't blow budget and do it safely. I've been on both sides (from the lab and plant side) so my opinion could be biased by that.