February 2, 2007

Washington, DC

Present:     Chair Line: R. Eisenstein, M. Klein, D. Moore, E. Moniz
                     Members: K. Budil, G. Crabtree, W. Dorland, H. Gao, R. Goldston, E. Heller, R. Howes, J. Lebowitz,
                     S. Mtingwa, M. Ross, J. Scofield, A. Sessoms,  B. Tannenbaum, V. Thomas

Absent:       J. Browne, F. Hellman, G. Lewis, C. Murray

Guests:       John Ahearne, via teleconference; Roger Hagengruber, via teleconference; Leo Kadanoff 

APS Staff:  K. Duncan, J. Franz, M. Lubell, B. Mosley, J. Russo, F. Slakey

Eisenstein called the meeting to order at 8:15 AM.

Welcome and Approval of Minutes

Action:  The motion to approve the minutes of the October 20^th, 2006 POPA meeting, with noted corrections, passed unanimously.

2007 POPA Subcommittee Assignments

Action:  Assignments to the POPA subcommittee for 2007 are as noted at the end of this document

Discussion & Approval of Electricity Storage Report

Ruth Howes introduced the report and policy supplement.  The report makes the point that it is important to implement “green” technologies and a next generation power grid; the report committee also made a point of not making the report/supplement proscriptive.  With the Department of Energy (DOE) as the primary audience, the report identified six promising technologies: 1) Pumped hydro, which is effective but environmentally disruptive, and is not for small installations; 2) Compressed air, which has the potential to be used in small scale facilities but requires more innovation to do so; 3) Batteries, which are promising and are gradually being used for building size applications but are expensive; 4) Super capacitors, which are expensive and require more research but have the potential to replace batteries; 5) Flywheels, which are only in the experimental stage and 6) Superconducting magnets, which are promising but not yet practical.  The report recommends that the DOE should hold a workshop to create a plan for the future.  It suggests that the inclusion of a demonstration project is important.  Finally, leveraging industrial money with public funding will be needed to ensure success.  Heller raised the question of why transportation was not brought up in the recommendations; Howes responded that the focus of the report was on the grid and not transportation.  Crabtree offered to supply more references, noting that it is difficult to find authoritative references in the field.  Goldston and Moniz pointed out efficiency needs to be made clear in the report.  Moniz also made the observation that some of the text needs to be tightened up and comprehensive proofreading is needed.  Lubell explained that the policy supplement was created for non-experts, specifically Congressional staffers and other policy makers.  Slakey explained that a Congressional staffer, who was presented the report and asked to review it, said the supplement was readable and hit the right tone for a Capitol Hill audience.

 

Action:  The committee approved the Policy Supplement for the Electricity Storage report.  The committee did not endorse the full report and asked that revisions be made.  The committee asked that revisions be made in time for the report to go to the February Executive Board meeting.  The committee agreed that it would reconsider the full report at its next meeting.

Discussion & Approval of Interim Storage Report

John Ahearne began the discussion with an update of the review process.  Four reviewers have read the report and said that it is good, and have few changes.  The report conclusions: siting consolidated facilities will be difficult, with no security, safety, or financial benefits.  Fuel presently being stored in dry casks and pools on site will be safe for the near and mid-term.  Hagengruber pointed out that responsible nuclear energy uses must lead to creating a better concept of interim storage of spent fuel.  

 

Action:  The committee approved the report with slight changes.

Creationism/ID Recommendations

The Committee made clear that how the issue is approached is important: we must make sure that the discussion is not science versus religion, and must realize that this is a political issue. Tannenbaum made the point that we need to decide if we want to have this be a long-term process ormore of a short-term splash. Moniz voiced a strong objection to recommendation 4, which stated that APS, "participate in the development of a multi-society structure that promotes a coordinated grassroots strategy and a unified national communications strategy on issues germane to the C-ID debate." The recommendation was edited to emphasize the established Joint Society Work Group (JSWG). The committee decided to revisit the topics during New Business in the afternoon.  

Action:  During New Business: Recommendations 2 through 7 were approved; recommendation 1 was eliminated.  Motion passed with 15 approvals and 1 dissent. 

Proposed POPA Report on Nuclear Forensics

Bill Dorland introduced the study charge. With the recent inclusions of India, Pakistan, and North Korea into the "Nuclear Club," five decades of non-proliferation have ended.   The study is to look at the technical issues associated with nuclear forensics including both current and potential techniques & technology available to identify origins of nuclear explosions and testing. It will examine the potential for nuclear forensics to enhance global nuclear deterrence and to contribute to nuclear attribution of an intercept or detonation of nuclear materials.  He said that the subcommittee is currently in the preliminary stages of finding a chair for the group. The committee is aiming for a ten-member study group, with representation from national labs, academia, AAAS, POPA, and the European community.  The committee will have 2 multi-day meetings within the year and will have a budget of $60K, to be split between APS and AAAS. The study group will attempt to recruit briefers from national labs, the Department of Homeland Security, and IAEA. Sessoms asked: will the report be classified or not? Dorland replied: the report will be unclassified. Klein pointed out that there would be a concern of complications arising from classification.

Action:  Report charge was approved.