nuclear-news

Allegations of data suppression at Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Probe to Look Into Allegations at NRC, WSJ,  By KEITH JOHNSON, May 10, 2012, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s inspector general will open an investigation into allegations that a regional supervisor sought to squelch some nuclear inspectors’ safety findings, according to an internal memo issued Thursday that defended the agency’s safety
record.

The investigation was prompted by an April 24 letter from anonymous staff in the NRC’s Western region to Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass.), ranking member of the House energy committee. The letter said one of the region’s deputy directors had created a “corrosive environment which inhibits the ability of inspectors to identify safety-significant issues.”….

The allegations in the April 24 letter
are largely directed at Troy Pruett, a Region IV manager who oversees
the inspection program for 21 nuclear plants. The letter alleged that
he tried to override inspectors’ findings about the Fort Calhoun
nuclear power plant near Omaha, Neb. Mr. Pruett forwarded queries to
an NRC spokesman.

The plant suffered a fire on June 7, 2011, that temporarily knocked
out power to the pools that store spent fuel rods. Fort Calhoun was
idle at the time due to heavy floods in the area.

NRC analysts determined the fire was a “red,” or high-level threat to
the plant’s operations. Mr. Pruett, who was overseeing the task force
evaluating when to restart the power plant, pushed back against those
findings and tried to persuade his superiors at headquarters that the
deficiencies identified at the plant didn’t represent a high-level
threat, the letter said.

Last month, the NRC officially determined that the fire was indeed a
“red” event. The plant is still idled.

Mr. Markey, in a letter to NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko, called the
anonymous allegations “appalling” and called for an independent
inquiry… http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070304577396602836752294.html

May 11, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA