IAEA Laments Growing Shortages of Human Resources

The IAEA's recently published biennial report, International Status and Prospects of Nuclear Power, made clear that one of the major barriers to the rapid development of nuclear power across the globe is the growing shortage of nuclear-skilled manpower. The availability of human resources is a critical challenge to the expansion and growth of nuclear power. It is a challenge for the nuclear industry to recruit and train a large number of qualified individuals just to replace those very experienced individuals who are retiring, the report said.

Years of rule by the anti-nuclear, anti-development authorities in the developed countries, manipulated by the investment bankers and various supranational financial institutions, using the no-growth environmentalist lobby as their legitimate spokespersons, have created this critical vacuum. The IAEA noted that a growing number of countries are expressing interest in introducing nuclear power. Of the more than 40 countries that have expressed such an interest in recent years, over 20 are actively considering nuclear power programs to meet their energy needs. However, their programs may get delayed, due to the lack of human resources, causing worsening economic distress for the people of all those countries.

Another disappointment cited in this report is that only a few countries currently use civil nuclear energy for purposes other than electricity production, and even then, only to a limited extent. However, it expressed hope that nuclear power use in non-electricity generation applications may increase in the future for applications such as desalination of seawater, district heating, process heat for industrial applications and coal liquefaction, and hydrogen production.

On the positive end, the report makes evident that the IAEA foresees no shortage of uranium in the short- to medium-term future. It also points out that the current enrichment and fuel-fabrication capacities are adequate to meet the expected demand for the next decade.