nuclear-news

A change, but not enough, in the NRC’s pro nuclear culture

Nuclear Regulatory Commission sea change? Chairman Jaczko wants red tape removed for Fukushima contentions By Frank Mand Wicked Local  Feb 27, 2012 PLYMOUTH — While the Nuclear Regulatory Commission seems to be moving quickly now, dispensing with the objections and legal contentions standing in the way of relicensing the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, as those impediments are brushed aside something quite remarkable may be taking place.
Almost hidden in several recent decisions by the NRC – decisions which went against critics of relicensing – is the core of a sea change, a belief on the part of certain key individuals in this government bureaucracy that, at least in the case of recent concerns about the relevance of the Fukushima disaster to Pilgrim and other American nuclear power plants, business as usual is no longer acceptable….

In short, even if the plant were relicensed tomorrow, changes in
response to the Fukushima disaster could and would still be enacted.
“We have in place well-established regulatory processes by which to
impose any new requirements or other enhancements that may be needed
following completion of regulatory actions associated with the
Fukushima events,” the decision announcement stated.
“All affected nuclear plants ultimately will be required to comply
with NRC direction resulting from lessons learned from the Fukushima
accident, regardless of the timing of issuance of the affected
licenses.”
Additionally, the vote to reject the contentions was not unanimous.
Gregory Jaczko, the commission’s chairman, offered a strong dissenting
opinion……

Over the past several years, NRC Administrative Judge Ann Marshall
Young has dissented with several majority decisions on contentions
offered by Pilgrim Watch and others, even prior to March 11, when word
of the earthquake and tsunami first reached America.

Read more: Nuclear Regulatory Commission sea change? – Kingston, MA –
Wicked Local Kingston
http://www.wickedlocal.com/kingston/news/x564864257/Nuclear-Regulatory-Commission-sea-change#ixzz1niAMNnj2

License to license
A few dissenting opinions, however, do not offset the majority.
The two contentions were dismissed and the expectation, again, is that
the remaining three contentions will suffer the same fate.
Pilgrim Watch founder Mary Lampert characterized the NRC’s decision on
these last two contentions in terms of its ethics.
“Germany and some other countries responded to the ongoing tragedy in
Fukushima by stopping operations until they were 100 percent certain
they understood what the problems were and were certain they could go
forward without risking the public’s safety,” Lampert said.
“In contrast, this decision (like the recent decision to grant a
license to build two new reactors) shows that NRC commissioners have
decided to go forward with licensing until they are certain that it is
not alright to do so.”
Lampert said this reflects a clear bias on the part of the NRC “in
favor of the nuclear industry – not to take the conservative route and
slow down until 100 percent convinced it is safe to do otherwise.”
At least in the case of Jaczko and Young, though, the bias appears to
be in a different direction.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/kingston/news/x564864257/Nuclear-Regulatory-Commission-sea-change#ixzz1niADVknT

February 28, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA