Taking the Long View in a Time of Great Uncertainty INMMs International Role

The INMM’s 53rd Annual Meeting, heldin Orlando, Florida USA, was a remarkableexperience that demonstrated howinterconnected we all are in the world ofnuclear materials management. Settingthe stage, the opening session featuredpresentations with extraordinary detail ofthe Fukushima nuclear accident and thesubsequent cleanup and recovery activities.1 Attendees also heard firsthand, in thediscussion of lessons learned, the impactthis event has had on almost every technicalarea of expertise that defines theINMM. The Fukushima accident was thesubject of this column a year ago, whenit was speculated that the event may representa strategic inflection point for theemerging nuclear renaissance at the time.2Although a year later it is still too early toassign that level of impact, all of the indicatorspoint to long-lasting disruptions tothe renaissance on a global scale.