Some Reflections on the Age of Experts in the Nuclear Energy Sector

Abstract

Nuclear Energy as part of the Energy Mix is back on the political agenda of many countries. Most first generation nuclear experts have retired or are retiring soon, although there are discussions ongoing to increase pension age in most EU countries. At the same time people are getting older continuously with time compared to when they were born. This could be a chance to involve nuclear experts to contribute still actively as much as possible to the critical process of preserving and consolidating important nuclear safety expert knowledge. Although the academic nuclear education is very good nowadays in most EU countries, the real experience, which was gained since the "Golden Years" of Nuclear Engineering, could be at risk to be lost or only partly be transferred. Therefore, this paper discusses the impact of the present age distribution of the experts in nuclear safety on the years to come and reports about some ongoing activities to recover their knowledge and avoid similar scenarios for the future