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Gregory Jaczko urges Nuclear Regulatory Commission to put safety ahead of costs

Mr. Jaczko said the [nuclear safety] changes were necessary for safety and the NRC should require operators to make them, regardless of cost

U.S. Nuclear Regulator: Agency Divided on Japan Response By RYAN TRACY 5 July 12 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303684004577509021876463962.html WASHINGTON—The departing chief U.S. nuclear regulator said U.S. officials still can’t agree on a response to Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi accident and urged his successor to “keep the pressure on” the nuclear industry.

Gregory Jaczko, who is stepping down Friday as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and handing the job to Allison Macfarlane, a geology professor at George Mason University, said proposed rules over nuclear-plant blackouts are a particular sticking point.

“It’s going to be more work, more money, and more modifications and
changes at the plant,” he said. “I hope the commission will continue
to keep the pressure on.”

He also foresaw a fight over whether the agency’s post-Japan
regulatory changes will have to pass a cost-benefit test, saying that
remains “a big area of disagreement” on the commission.

Mr. Jaczko said the changes were necessary for safety and the NRC should require operators to make them, regardless of cost. The four
other NRC commissioners have said they want to evaluate the costs and
benefits of each proposed change individually.

Asked about Japan’s parliamentary report on the Fukushima accident,
Mr. Jaczko said nuclear safety “requires having a strong and effective
regulator” and added that the U.S. is giving Tokyo “lessons…about how
to set up a regulator that will work in the way that they want it to
work.”

July 6, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA