nuclear-news

With Allison MacFarlane and Gregory Jaczko. USA’s nuclear power plans could be very different

NRC rejects effort to move radwaste from pools; Macfarlane issues strong dissent Michael Mariotte, Green World, 30 May 14,

“……….Back to the composition of the NRC. If Greg Jaczko, who voted against licenses for the Vogtle and Summer reactors and since leaving the Commission has recommended phase-out of U.S. reactors, were still chair, Allison Macfarlane would almost certainly have still been President Obama’s next Democratic nominee (the NRC is required to have no more than three of its five members from the same political party). And there are two Democratic seats up this year: Commissioner Magwood is leaving the agency soon to head up Europe’s Nuclear Energy Agency, which exists not to regulate, but promote nuclear power (a position that raises the issue of whether it was a conflict-of-interest for Magwood to have taken this vote, and for that matter any other vote at this point) and Commissioner Apostolakis’ five-year term ends next month. He has not announced publicly whether he wants a second term, but the President is certainly under no obligation to re-appoint him even if he does.

We would have a very different Commission then. But we still could. Now, President Obama is in a position to act to fundamentally change the NRC and support his chosen chair. And, as this vote makes clear, to support his chosen NRC chair Macfarlane, he mustuse this opportunity to appoint such advocates to the NRC. Otherwise, he will be simply hanging her out to dry.

For that reason, NIRS has begun an e-mail campaign to urge the President to appoint such people to the Commission now. You can make your voice heard here. And NIRS and other groups will be making this point as forcefully as possible in other venues in the coming weeks as well. http://safeenergy.org/2014/05/29/nrc-rejects-effort-to-move-radwaste-from-pools/

May 30, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA