Nuclear Regulatory Oversight Challenged

Although the U.S. has strong regulations regarding nuclear power plant safety, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is failing to enforce them, charges the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) in a report released last week. Along with NRC enforcement, the report raises other nuclear issues, such as the adequacy of U.S. power plants to survive a terrorist attack, the likelihood that government plans to reprocess spent fuel may lead to nuclear weapons proliferation, and the inadequacy of new reactor designs. Concerning enforcement specifically, the report cites 35 instances when power plant safety shutdowns took more than a year to correct. UCS researchers argue that dozens or even hundreds of equipment impairments were discovered during shutdowns, demonstrating the depth of safety problems at reactor sites. NRC spokesman Scott Burnell, however, tells C&EN: "These are dynamic situations. And once a plant is shut down, it is no surprise when additional issues are discovered. The bottom line is that we kept them closed for longer periods, and that shows the importance of safety."