Talk:Arnold Gundersen

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I would like to see more material on his educational and professional resume that would speak to his credibility as a nuclear engineering expert. This article, as it currently stands, says that Mr. Gundersen is a former "executive" in the nuclear industry. It doesn't say who he worked for, or what his title was, nor how long he worked in that position. It also seems to provide no citation for the claim that he is a former executive. I've seen this guy cited, on numerous occasions, as a nuclear 'expert' by various news sources, but I really don't know what the basis for his claimed status as 'expert' is, which is why I came to WikiPedia, but the article, as it currently stands, has almost no useful information. 198.187.27.5 (talk) 19:25, 18 May 2011 (UTC)


 * Scientific American says that Gundersen is a "former nuclear industry executive" and that is already cited. I've now added "He previously worked for Nuclear Energy Services in Danbury, a consulting firm where he held a $120,000-a-year job as senior vice president". This information comes from The New York Times, as cited. Johnfos (talk) 03:42, 21 May 2011 (UTC)
 * This link has some more info on Arnie Gunderson's credentials, but I can't figure out if it is referencable or reliable. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Energy4All (talk • contribs) 20:04, 4 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Workers Inside Failing Reactors Will Quickly Reach Limit for Radiation Exposure: [Foreign Desk] Fountain, Henry. New York Times [New York, N.Y] 15 Mar 2011: .12.
 * In this NYT article he says he worked at the Vermont Yankee plant, and implies that it was in a management capacity.   Will Beback    talk    10:35, 14 August 2011 (UTC)

Is it really accurate to say the guy has 30 to 40 years experience in the nuclear industry when he has worked solely as a schoolteacher since 1990 other than some part time work for Greenpeace. Someone might want to reword that a bit.

Also claiming he was a whistle-blower is a little far-fetched when the official investigation by the NRC found he made the whole thing up and he lost the defamation lawsuit in court brought by his employer. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:30A:2CBA:A1B0:2469:1EED:EFE6:C0F3 (talk) 20:06, 1 December 2014 (UTC)

Gundersen's misinformation about Fukushima
Throughout the Fukushima incident, Mr. Gundersen made false claims and spread misinformation. He claimed on more than one occasion that the spent fuel pool at Unit 4 had blown up, which it didn't. He also claimed that the amount of radiation released was as much as Chernobyl,http://www.democracynow.org/2012/7/6/as_japan_says_fukushima_disaster_man#transcript which is also clearly wrong. Information is still on his website that claims the spent fuel pool went dry http://www.fairewinds.com/content/new-images-reveal-nuclear-fuel-rack-exposed-air, which it didn't. He is quoted as saying, "Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind" http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2011/06/201161664828302638.html which of course ignores disasters such as Bhopal (20,000 deaths, 550,000 inuries) and the Banqiao Dam failure (171,000 deaths). Worst of all, he claims there will be 1 million cancer deaths associated with Fukushima over the next 30 years http://www.democracynow.org/2012/7/6/as_japan_says_fukushima_disaster_man#transcript, a claim multiple independent sources have clearly debunked. http://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/fukushima.html http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/fukushima/

Saying that "These videos extensively document and explain various issues ongoing at the plant site." in the Fukushima Updates section is completely wrong. And the section doesn't even exist on his website anymore. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Thompn4 (talk • contribs) 16:49, 5 May 2013 (UTC)


 * I've added some information to reflect this. --Swift (talk) 14:23, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Yes, I came to this topic a day. He's really a liar. I'm wondering how we might subtly say this. Rod Adams from Atomic Insights doesn't like him http://atomicinsights.com/was-gundersen-a-licensed-reactor-operator-and-senior-vp-nuclear-licensee/ http://atomicinsights.com/arnie-gundersen-has-inflated-his-resume-yet-frequently-claims-that-entergy-cannot-be-trusted/ I don't think he should be considered an expert

CV here http://libcloud.s3.amazonaws.com/93/9d/8/2679/CV_ArnoldGundersen2012_December.pdf

http://atomicinsights.com/arnie-gundersen-caught-on-video-lying-about-risk-of-radiation-released-during-fukushima-event/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Graemem56 (talk • contribs) 10:41, 7 December 2014 (UTC)

We really add this information to the article. I see him being quoted by some conspiracy theorists, but when I view this article I feel like he is a trustworthy source... When in actuality, after doing deeper research I find quite the opposite. 98.103.160.18 (talk) 15:13, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110915220911/http://www.necnp.org:80/files/docs/NEC_March_8_2006_Appeal_re_Docket_6812_filings_3_8_06.pdf to http://www.necnp.org/files/docs/NEC_March_8_2006_Appeal_re_Docket_6812_filings_3_8_06.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130701152634/http://fairewinds.org:80/category/media/fairewinds-videos/ to http://fairewinds.org/category/media/fairewinds-videos/
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Expert witness claim in "investigation" of TMI
"He served as an expert witness in the investigation of the Three Mile Island accident."


 * This is a direct quote from the article that is cited with the sentence. It's a 2011 interview with Gundersen, where he was introduced with "Now chief engineer at Fairwinds Associates, he has worked as a nuclear plant operator and he served as an expert witness in the investigation into the Three Mile Island accident." https://www.pri.org/stories/2011-03-15/nuclear-expert-50-50-chance-catastrophic-radiation-japan


 * Gundersen never worked as a nuclear plant operator!

What is the investigation that this statement is referring to?
 * There were several investigations by and for the NRC, by Congress, and for President Carter.

What made him an "expert witness?"
 * Gundersen was a reactor operator for a very brief period in the early 70's at a zero-power open-pool university research reactor.
 * Working for Northeast Utilities Service Corporation from 1972 to 1976, he was an associate engineer assigned to Montague Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 & 2 and engineer assigned to Millstone Unit 2.
 * For New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG) from 1976 to 1979, he was Lead Power Systems Engineer and Reliability Engineering Supervisor.
 * NYSEG had had several schemes to get into nuclear power, but its only success came in 1975 when it became an 18 percent partner in Nine Mile Point, already delayed for over a year.


 * At the time of the TMI accident in 1979, Gundersen had no operating or engineering experience nor special credibility that would qualify him to be an "expert witness" in any of the investigations.

His CV says that he has provided "expert witness testimony in nuclear litigation and administrative hearings in federal, international, and state court and to Nuclear Regulatory Commission" and does include Three Mile Island in the list. It also lists: "GMA – 1990 to 1995, including expert witness testimony regarding the accident at Three Mile Island." I don't know what GMA is in this context (surely not ABC's "Good Morning America").

Proposed resolution
I intend to remove the statement.
 * Michaelpgoad (talk) 12:07, 12 October 2021 (UTC)

[citation needed]?
Do this "article" contain a single claim that is not [citation needed] every source I have checked basically boils down to "according to Arnold Gundersen". For example Source 1 is literally "CURRICULUM VITAE Arnold Gundersen" Source 2 is an interview with him about his "whistleblowing" Source 3 Seem to accurately describe the research reactor, but lack a single mention of Gundersen Source 4 Is his "CURRICULUM VITAE" but from 2020 instead of 2009 Source 5 Is an affidavit from Gundersen. It is still not a independent source. Source 6 regarding his involvement in Three mile island is an interview with him and it mention it as his credentials and he mention it during the interview but it do not in any way provide any independent prof. Source 7 and 8 prove that he have been on TV but do not verify any of his credentials. Source 9 is him being wrong about Fukushima. Source 10 is a organisation he have ether worked for or been in the leadership of. Source 11 is a dead link but seem to be one more interview. Most of remaining sources seem to be mostly media appearances and stuff Gundersen published at Fairwinds. The only thing any of the sources I have looked into establish is that some people seem to consider Gundersen as a authority about nuclear reactors but not a single source establish at any point why anyone should consider Gunderson an authority in anything. not even his teaching jobs are independently verified by linking to the schools in question. "Connecticut schools teaching mathematics and physics" show source 1 and 11 as links, 1 is his CV and 11 is a dead link. "Mathematics Professor at Community College of Vermont." only show source 1 the CV. Agge.se (talk) 20:18, 21 April 2022 (UTC)