Safety Modeling Enables Nuclear Acceptance

High‑fidelity accident and systems modeling (exemplified by Sandia’s MELCOR work and SOARCA legacy) is not just a technical exercise: it underpins regulatory confidence, shapes risk communication, and therefore materially affects public acceptance and deployment timelines for advanced reactors. Investments that expand modeling to new reactor types create the preconditions for regulators to certify designs and for policymakers to include nuclear in climate and energy strategies. — If modeling capacity is a gating factor for regulation and public trust, then debates over nuclear deployment hinge on who builds and funds those models, not only on cost or emissions.