nuclear-news

Nuclear Regulatory Commission under the thumb of Nuclear Industry

Deference to Industry The N.R.C.’s slowness in addressing serious problems is another concern……The agency has little choice but to tolerate violations, ……… “Otherwise, nearly all the U.S. reactors would have to shut down,”

Nuclear Agency Is Criticized as Too Close to Its Industry.  NYTimes.com, By TOM ZELLER Jr., May 7, 2011 “……..Exelon’s risky decisions occurred under the noses of on-site inspectors from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. No documented inspection of the pipes was made by anyone from the N.R.C. for at least the eight years preceding the leak, and the agency also failed to notice that Exelon kept lowering the acceptable standard, according to a subsequent investigation by the commission’s inspector general.

Exelon’s penalty? A reprimand for two low-level violations — a tepid response all too common at the N.R.C., said George A. Mulley Jr., a former investigator with the inspector general’s office who led the Byron inquiry. “They always say, ‘Oh, but nothing happened,’ ” Mr. Mulley said. “Well, sooner or later, our luck — you know, we’re going to end up rolling craps.” Continue reading →

May 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Corruption of nuclear power regulators

Japan Nuclear Update, Clean Energy.org, April 28th, 2011 “….Much is being made of the corruption of nuclear regulators in Japan, with the New York Times reporting the existence of a culture of complicity that sounds similar to recent charges that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) suffers from regulatory capture. As we reported last week, Wikileaksobtained cables that prove there is a conflict of interest in the NRC’s role to regulate, which is being compromised by their apparent double role as diplomats extolling the benefits of American nuclear technology. This is completely unacceptable considering the NRC’s stated mission, “to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment.” How can regulators objectively regulate when a large portion of their budget comes from the industry? The problem is further compounded by the regulatory “revolving door” which clearly affects decision-making. We don’t need to look far here in the Southeast to see instances of “regulatory capture.” Former NRC Chair Dale Klein joined Southern Company’s board of directors  just months after leaving the NRC and just as the utility giant and its partners accepted the first conditional nuclear loan guarantee of $8.3 billion for the two new proposed reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia….. http://blog.cleanenergy.org/2011/04/28/april-28-japan-nuclear-update/

April 29, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

USA Nuclear Regulatory Commission accused of lying on safety

“Key elements of what the NRC chief told Congress were ‘a baldfaced lie.'”…The NRC, America’s nuclear watchdog, is essentially captive to the profit-driven industry it’s charged to regulate.

America’s Nuclear Nightmare: ‘A Dozen Fukushima’s Waiting to Happen’, Rolling Stone,  By JULIAN BROOKES,  27 April 11, Shortly after an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, in March, triggering the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, America’s leading nuclear regulator trekked up to Capitol Hill to assure jumpy lawmkers that, no way, it couldn’t happen here. Continue reading →

April 28, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment