Small Nuclear Reactors Would Provide Carbon-Free Energy, but Would They Be Safe?

A Portland-based company wants to repurpose old coal-fired power plants to harbor small nuclear reactors, where instead of burning dirty coal, they’d produce carbon-free energy. Federal regulators OK’d designs for 12 reactors to be built in Idaho, but critics worry the project is unsafe and won’t be built in time to stave off the effects of climate change.