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Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)


Self Description

October 2003: "The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 to regulate civilian use of nuclear materials. NRC is headed by a five-member Commission."  http://www.nrc.gov/who-we-are.html

Third-Party Descriptions

October 2007: Although the White House at the time called potassium iodide pills crucial to preventing thyroid cancer in cases of radiation exposure, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) argues against wider distribution of the drug. According to the NRC, the pills may not be the most effective way to prevent cancer and could undermine confidence in U.S. nuclear plants.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-22-nukepill_N.htm

October 2007: Now there's a new twist in the plot: The nuclear power industry is trying to come back from its own abyss. With natural gas prices volatile and people anxious about climate change, the nuclear power industry is touting its technology as a way to meet the nation's growing energy needs without emitting more greenhouse gases. Over the next two years, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects applications to build as many as 32 new nuclear reactors.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/07/AR2007100701324.html

August 2007: In retrospect, Lunsford says--and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission agrees--that government-mandated safeguards would have prevented him from triggering a nuclear meltdown. But he's fairly certain that by accessing controls through the company's network, he could have sabotaged the power supply to a large portion of the state. 'It would have been as simple as closing a valve,' he says. In Pictures: America's Hackable Backbone

http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/22/scada-hackers-infrastructure-tech-security-cx_ag_0822hack.html

July 2007: WASHINGTON, July 11 — Undercover Congressional investigators set up a bogus company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a so-called dirty bomb.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/us/12nuke.html

July 2007: Undercover congressional investigators posing as West Virginia businessmen obtained a license with almost no scrutiny from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that enabled them to buy enough radioactive material from U.S. suppliers to build a 'dirty bomb,' a new government report says.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/11/AR2007071101895.html

July 2007: Generally, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does describe nuclear incidents and changes in licenses. But in 2004, according to the committee’s letter, the Office of Naval Reactors, part of the Energy Department, reached an agreement with the commission that any correspondence with Nuclear Fuel Services would be marked “official use only.” The plant makes submarine fuel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/06/us/06nuke.html

January 2007: [The Nuclear Regulatory Commission--Ed.] plunged into an energy and national security controversy yesterday by ruling that the nation's 103 nuclear power plants do not need to protect themselves from potential attacks by terrorists using airplanes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/29/AR2007012900572.html

July 2001: To be confident in Yucca, federal scientists are trying to turn geology and geochemistry — the study of the interaction of water, pressure, heat and soil — into predictive sciences. At the urging of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, they are also extending their study of volcanism. A line of cinder cones is visible from the mountaintop; scientists disagree about how old they are and when, and where, the next is likely to form.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/31/science/earth/31YUCC.html

April 2005: The Government Accountability Office's indictment of the nuclear facilities and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is the most comprehensive reckoning to date of problems that have begun to emerge at a number of plants in recent years.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44916-2005Apr11.html

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Opponent (past or present) Committee to Bridge the Gap (CBG) Organization Jan 30, 2007
Owned by (partial or full, past or present) US Federal Government - Independent Agencies Organization May 6, 2005
Advised by (past or present) Prof. George E. Apostolakis Person Nov 21, 2009
Organization Executive (past or present) James K. Asselstine Person Mar 25, 2008
Research/Analysis Subject Prof. David Burnham Person Aug 7, 2006
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Gregory B. Jaczko Person Nov 21, 2009
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Dr. Dale E. Klein Ph.D. Person Jan 30, 2007

Articles and Resources

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Mar 17, 2011 With U.S. Nuclear Plants Under Scrutiny, Too, a Report Raises Safety Concerns

QUOTE: Mr. Lyman suggested that the commission was being hypocritical: the official evacuation zone surrounding nuclear power plants in the United States is only 10 miles, although critics have long urged that it be increased. The agency “should not be using different standards for Americans abroad than it does at home,” Mr. Lyman said.

 New York Times
Nov 19, 2009 Zombie Nuke Plants

QUOTE: More than half of America's nuclear plants have received new twenty-year operating licenses. In fact, the NRC has not rejected a single license-renewal application. Many of these plants have also received "power up-rates" that allow them to run at up to 120 percent of their originally intended capacity. That means their systems are subjected to unprecedented amounts of heat, pressure, corrosion, stress and embrittling radiation.

 Nation
Jun 20, 2009 At V.A. Hospital, a Rogue Cancer Unit

QUOTE: For patients with prostate cancer, it is a common surgical procedure: a doctor implants dozens of radioactive seeds to attack the disease. But when Dr. Gary D. Kao treated one patient at the veterans’ hospital in Philadelphia, his aim was more than a little off. Most of the seeds... landed in the patient’s healthy bladder... It was a serious mistake, and under federal rules, regulators investigated. But Dr. Kao, with their consent, made his mistake all but disappear.

 New York Times
May 27, 2008 In Vermont, a Debate Swirls Around an Aging Nuclear Plant

QUOTE: The proposed closing, albeit a long shot, has gained some support this year among Vermont politicians. The discussion here is bringing into sharp relief a conflict between two objectives long held by environmental advocates: combating nuclear power and stopping global warming.

 New York Times
Oct 23, 2007 White House may stop plan for anti-radiation pills

QUOTE: The White House is considering whether to invoke a legal loophole allowing the government to scrap the distribution requirement if there is a better way to prevent thyroid cancer. In July, President Bush instructed his science adviser to make that determination.

 USA TODAY
Oct 08, 2007 Nuclear Power Primed for Comeback: Demand, Subsidies Spur U.S. Utilities

QUOTE: Many environmental groups, torn between concern about climate and long-standing antipathy toward nuclear power, are seizing on the cost issue. "We're not an anti-nuclear group," says Jeremy Symons, executive director of the global warming program at the National Wildlife Federation. "But it doesn't make sense for the government to be investing in nuclear when the money could be put into renewables and energy efficiency."

 Washington Post
Aug 22, 2007 America's Hackable Backbone

QUOTE: But because SCADA systems are largely owned by the private sector, critical infrastructure like power plants and water systems may remain vulnerable until the problem affects profits--or leads to disaster. Christy argues that we can't wait that long: His unofficial opinion is that SCADA needs government regulation.

 Forbes
Jul 31, 2007 Firm Applies To Expand Nuclear Plant In Maryland

QUOTE: The filing marked another small step toward a resurgence of the nuclear power industry… [But] Thanks to concerns about emissions of global-warming gases, opposition has been mounting against coal-fired power plants.

 Washington Post
Jul 12, 2007 Sting Reveals Security Gap at Nuclear Agency

QUOTE: Undercover congressional investigators posing as West Virginia businessmen obtained a license with almost no scrutiny from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that enabled them to buy enough radioactive material from U.S. suppliers to build a "dirty bomb," a new government report says.

 Washington Post
Jul 12, 2007 A Nuclear Ruse Uncovers Holes in U.S. Security

QUOTE: Undercover Congressional investigators set up a bogus company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a so-called dirty bomb.

 New York Times
Jul 06, 2007 Secrecy at Nuclear Agency Is Criticized by Lawmakers

QUOTE: After an investigation, the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] changed the terms of the factory’s license and said the public had 20 days to request a hearing on the changes. But no member of the public ever did. In fact, no member of the public could find out about the changes.

 New York Times
Jan 30, 2007 Nuclear Agency: Air Defenses Impractical

QUOTE: Federal regulators plunged into an energy and national security controversy yesterday by ruling that the nation's 103 nuclear power plants do not need to protect themselves from potential attacks by terrorists using airplanes....."I am disappointed," said Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.). The NRC decision "reflects an inadequate, industry-influenced approach that sacrifices security in favor of corporate profits."

 Washington Post
Apr 04, 2006 Nuclear-plant security: Is it enough?

QUOTE: If the terror attacks of 9/11 taught one lesson, it was that America must make itself less vulnerable to attack by air - perhaps nowhere more urgently than at the nation's 103 nuclear power plants...Yet 4-1/2 years later, those plants are little safer from air attack, say critics.

 Christian Science Monitor
Apr 12, 2005 Nuclear Plants Not Keeping Track of Waste: GAO Study Faults Federal Government for Failing to Implement Safeguards

QUOTE: "The consistency of these findings suggests the NRC is more interested in shielding production margins at power stations than it is in prioritizing public health and safety,"...

 Washington Post
Jun 04, 2003 Bechtel's Nuclear Nightmares

QUOTE: The privately owned corporation has operated with impunity, whether siphoning off millions of taxpayer dollars from government contracts or poisoning the communities surrounding their ventures.
Jul 31, 2001 Radioactive Waste Site: a Shift in Strategy

QUOTE: After spending 14 years and $4.5 billion to figure out whether Yucca Mountain is dry and stable enough to entomb highly radioactive waste for 10,000 years...

 New York Times