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<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-disabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref--excluded vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-not-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Edit filter log - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-disabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref--excluded vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-not-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; 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Hanson]]\n|chief1_position = Chairman\n|website = {{url|http://www.nrc.gov}}\n|footnotes =\n}}\n\nThe '''Nuclear Regulatory Commission''' ('''NRC''') is an [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent agency of the United States government]] tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the [[Energy Reorganization Act of 1974]], the NRC began operations on January 19, 1975, as one of two successor agencies to the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]]. Its functions include overseeing [[Nuclear reactor safety system|reactor safety]] and security, administering reactor licensing and renewal, licensing [[radioactive materials]], [[radionuclide]] safety, and managing the storage, security, recycling, and disposal of [[spent fuel]].\n\n==History==\n[[File:NRC Briefing on Human Capital and EEO (51245895192).jpg|thumb|The commission meets in 2021]]\nPrior to 1975 the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] was in charge of matters regarding radionuclides. The AEC was dissolved, because it was perceived as unduly favoring the industry it was charged with regulating.\u003Cref name=atom19\u003EJohn Byrne and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers, p. 163.\u003C/ref\u003E The NRC was formed as an independent commission to oversee [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear energy]] matters, oversight of [[nuclear medicine]], and [[nuclear safety and security]].\n\nThe U.S. AEC became the [[Energy Research and Development Administration]] (ERDA) in 1975, responsible for development and oversight of [[nuclear weapon]]s. Research and promotion of civil uses of radioactive materials, such as for nuclear [[non-destructive testing]], nuclear medicine, and [[nuclear power]], was split into the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science \u0026 Technology within ERDA by the same act. In 1977, ERDA became the [[United States Department of Energy]] (DOE). In 2000, the [[National Nuclear Security Administration]] was created as a subcomponent of DOE, responsible for nuclear weapons.\u003Cref name=wellc/\u003E\n\nTwelve years into NRC operations, a 1987 Congressional report entitled \"NRC Coziness with Industry\"\u003Cref name=congress\u003E{{cite web|title=NRC' COZINESS- WITH\" INDUSTRY\" Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fails to Maintain Arms Length Relationship with the Nuclear Industry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaDs5KO2hncC|work=An Investigative Report 100th\" Congress First Session|access-date=21 May 2014|author=U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Subcommittee on General, Oversight and Investigations|date=1987}}\u003C/ref\u003E concluded, that the NRC \"has not maintained an arms length regulatory posture with the commercial nuclear power industry ... [and] has, in some critical areas, abdicated its role as a regulator altogether\".\u003Cref name=atom19/\u003E To cite three examples:\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\n\nA 1986 Congressional report found that NRC staff had provided valuable technical assistance to the utility seeking an operating license for the controversial [[Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant|Seabrook plant]]. In the late 1980s, the NRC 'created a policy' of non-enforcement by asserting its discretion not to enforce license conditions; between September 1989 and 1994, the 'NRC has either waived or chosen not to enforce regulations at nuclear power reactors over 340 times'. Finally, critics charge that the NRC has ceded important aspects of regulatory authority to the industry's own Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), an organization formed by utilities in response to the Three Mile Island Accident.\u003Cref name=atom19/\u003E\n\u003C/blockquote\u003E\n\nThe origins and development of NRC regulatory processes and policies are explained in five volumes of history published by the [[University of California Press]]. These are:\u003Cref name=wellc/\u003E\n* ''Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation 1946–1962'' (1984).\n* ''Containing the Atom: Nuclear Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963–1971'' (1992).\n* ''Permissible Dose: A History of Radiation Protection in the Twentieth Century'' (2000)\n* ''[[Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective]]'' (2004)\n* ''The Road to Yucca Mountain: The Development of Radioactive Waste Policy in the United States'' (2009).\n\nThe NRC has produced a booklet, ''A Short History of Nuclear Regulation 1946–2009'', which outlines key issues in NRC history.\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/brochures/br0175/|title=NRC: A Short History of Nuclear Regulation, 1946–2009 (NUREG/BR-0175, Revision 2)|website=www.nrc.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-03-04}}\u003C/ref\u003E [[Thomas Wellock]], a former academic, is the NRC historian. Before joining the NRC, Wellock wrote ''[[Critical Masses: Opposition to Nuclear Power in California, 1958–1978]]''.\u003Cref name=wellc\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/history.html#nrctoday |title=NRC history |author=NRC |year=2013 |work= NRC website}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n==Mission and commissioners==\nThe NRC's mission is to regulate the nation's civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment.\nThe NRC's regulatory mission covers three main areas{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}:\n* ''Reactors'' – Commercial reactors for generating electric power and research and test reactors used for research, testing, and training\n* ''Materials'' – Uses of nuclear materials in medical, industrial, and academic settings and facilities that produce nuclear fuel\n* ''Waste'' – Transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear materials and waste, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities from service.\n\nThe NRC is headed by five commissioners appointed by the [[President of the United States]] and confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] for five-year terms. One of them is designated by the president to be the chairman and official spokesperson of the commission.\n\nThe current chairman is [[Christopher T. Hanson]]. [[President Biden]] designated Hanson as chairman of the NRC effective January 20, 2021.\u003Cref name=nei-20210128/\u003E\n\n===List of chairmen\u003Cref name=\"NRC-FormerChairmen\"\u003E{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html|title=Former NRC Chairman|publisher=Nuclear Regulatory Commission|access-date=6 April 2017}}\u003C/ref\u003E===\n{| class=\"wikitable\" style=\"text-align:center\"\n|-\n!rowspan=\"1\"|No.\n!rowspan=\"1\"|Name (chair)\n!rowspan=\"1\"|Photo\n!colspan=\"2\"|Term of office\n!rowspan=\"1\"|Appointed by\n|-\n|1\n|[[Bill Anders]]\n|[[File:William Anders.jpg|70px]]\n|January 19, 1975\n|April 20, 1976\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[Gerald Ford]]\n|-\n|2\n|[[Marcus A. Rowden]]\n|[[File:Marcus_Rowden.jpg|70px]]\n|January 19, 1975\n|January 15, 1977\n|-\n|3\n|[[Joseph M. Hendrie]]\n|[[File:Joseph_Hendrie.jpg|70px]]\n|March 3, 1977\n|December 7, 1979\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[Jimmy Carter]]\n|-\n|4\n|[[John F. Ahearne]]\n|[[File:John_Ahearne.jpg|70px]]\n|December 7, 1979\n|March 2, 1981\n|-\n|5\n|[[Nunzio J. Palladino]]\n|[[File:Nunzio_Palladino.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1981\n|June 30, 1986\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[Ronald Reagan]]\n|-\n|6\n|[[Lando W. Zech Jr.]]\n|[[File:Lando_Zech_Jr.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1986 \n|June 3, 1989\n|-\n|7\n|[[Kenneth Monroe Carr]]\n|[[File:Kenneth Monroe Carr.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1989\n|June 30, 1991\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[George H.W Bush]]\n|-\n|8\n|[[Ivan Selin]]\n|[[File:Ivan_Selin.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1991\n|June 30, 1995\n|-\n|9\n|[[Shirley Ann Jackson]]\n|[[File:Shirley Ann Jackson World Economic Forum 2010.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1995\n|June 30, 1999\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[Bill Clinton]]\n|-\n|10\n|[[Richard Meserve]]\n|[[File:Richard Meserve.jpg|70px]]\n|October 29, 1999\n|March 31, 2003\n|-\n|11\n|[[Nils J. Diaz]]\n|[[File:Nils J. Diaz, former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.gif|70px]]\n|April 1, 2003 \n|June 30, 2006\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[George W. Bush]]\n|-\n|12\n|[[Dale E. Klein]]\n|[[File:Dale Klein.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 2006\n|May 13, 2009\n|-\n|13\n|[[Gregory Jaczko]]\n|[[File:Gregory B. Jaczko.jpg|70px]]\n|May 13, 2009\n|July 9, 2012\n!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"3\"|[[Barack Obama]]\n|-\n|14\n|[[Allison Macfarlane]]\n|[[File:Chairman Allison M. Macfarlane.jpg|70px]]\n|July 9, 2012\n|December 31, 2014\n|-\n|15\n|[[Stephen G. Burns]]\u003Cref name=\"burns\"\u003E{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/burns.html|title=Stephen G. Burns|access-date=6 April 2017}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n|[[File:Chairman Stephen G. Burns.jpg|70px]]\n|January 1, 2015\n|January 23, 2017\n|-\n|16\n|[[Kristine Svinicki]]\u003Cref name=\"svnicki\"\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/svinicki.html |title=Chairman Kristine L. Svinicki |access-date=6 April 2017}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n|[[File:Kristine Svinicki.jpg|70px]]\n|January 23, 2017\n|January 20, 2021\n!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"1\"|[[Donald Trump]]\n|-\n|17\n|[[Christopher T. Hanson]]\u003Cref name=nei-20210128\u003E{{cite news |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsbiden-appoints-new-head-of-nrc-8476871 |title=Biden appoints new head of NRC |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=28 January 2021 |access-date=1 February 2021}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n|[[File:Commissioner Christopher T. Hanson.jpg|88x88px]]\n|January 20, 2021\n|Incumbent\n!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"1\"|[[Joe Biden]]\n|-\n|}\n\n===List of commissioners\u003Cref name=\"NRC-FormerComm\"\u003E{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html|title=Former NRC Commissioners|publisher=Nuclear Regulatory Commission|access-date=6 April 2017}}\u003C/ref\u003E===\n*[[Marcus A. Rowden]] January 19, 1975 – April 20, 1977\n*[[Edward A. Mason]] January 19, 1975 – January 15, 1977\n*[[Victor Gilinsky]] January 19, 1975 – June 30, 1984\n*[[Richard T. Kennedy]] January 19, 1975 – June 30, 1980\n*[[Joseph M. Hendrie]] August 9, 1977 – June 30, 1981\n*[[Peter A. Bradford]] August 15, 1977 – March 12, 1982\n*[[John F. Ahearne]] July 31, 1978 – June 30, 1983\n*[[Nunzio J. Palladiono]] July 1, 1981 – June 30, 1986\n*[[Thomas M. Roberts]] August 3, 1981 – June 30, 1990\n*[[James K. Asselstine]] May 17, 1982 – June 30, 1987\n*[[Frederick M. Bernthal]] August 4, 1983 – June 30, 1988\n*[[Lando W. Zech Jr.]] July 3, 1984 – June 30, 1989\n*[[Kenneth Monroe Carr]] August 14, 1986 – June 30, 1991\n*[[Kenneth C. Rogers]] August 7, 1987 – June 30, 1997\n*[[James R. Curtiss]] October 20, 1988 – June 30, 1993\n*[[Forrest J. Remick]] December 1, 1989 – June 30, 1994\n*[[Ivan Selin]] July 1, 1991 – June 30, 1995\n*[[E. Gail de Planque]] December 16, 1991 – June 30, 1995\n*[[Shirley Ann Jackson]] May 2, 1995 – June 30, 1999\n*[[Greta J. Dicus]] February 15, 1996 – June 30, 2003\n*[[Nils J. Diaz]] August 23, 1996 – June 30, 2006\n*[[Edward McGaffigan Jr.]] August 28, 1996 – September 2, 2007\n*[[Jeffrey S. Merrifield]] October 23, 1998 – June 30, 2007\n*[[Richard A. Meserve]] October 29, 1999 – March 31, 2003\n*[[Gregory Jaczko]] January 21, 2005 – July 9, 2012\n*[[Peter B. Lyons]] January 25, 2005 – June 30, 2009\n*[[Dale E. Klein]] July 1, 2006 – March 29, 2010\n*[[Kristine Svinicki]] March 28, 2008 – January 20, 2021\n*[[George Apostolakis]] March 29, 2010 – June 30, 2014\n*[[William D. Magwood IV]] March 29, 2010 – August 31, 2014\n*[[William C. Ostendorff]] March 29, 2010 – June 30, 2016\n*[[Allison Macfarlane]] July 9, 2012 – December 31, 2014\n*[[Jeff Baran]] October 14, 2014 – Present\n*[[Stephen G. Burns]] November 4, 2014 – April 30, 2019\n*[[Annie Caputo]] May 29, 2018 – June 30, 2021\n*[[David A. Wright]] May 30, 2018 – Present \n*[[Christopher T. Hanson]] June 30, 2020 – Present\n\n==Organization==\n[[File:NRC Organizational Chart (32234530897).jpg|thumb|NRC Organizational Chart in February 2019]]\nThe NRC consists of the commission on the one hand and offices of the executive director for Operations on the other.\u003Cref name=org\u003E{{cite web|title=Organization \u0026 Functions|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization.html|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|date=27 November 2013}}\u003C/ref\u003E\nThe commission is divided into two committees (Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards and Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes) and one Board, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, as well as eight commission staff offices (Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication, Office of Congressional Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, Office of International Programs, Office of Public Affairs, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Executive Director for Operations).\n\n[[Christopher T. Hanson]] is the chairman of the NRC.\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commfuncdesc.html|title=NRC: The Commission|website=www.nrc.gov|access-date=February 24, 2021}}\u003C/ref\u003E There are 14 Executive Director for Operations offices:\nOffice of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, [[Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation]], Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Office of Enforcement, which investigates reports by [[nuclear power whistleblowers]], specifically the Allegations Program,\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/allegations-resp.html |title= Allegations |date=28 June 2013|publisher=NRC}}\u003C/ref\u003E Office of Investigations, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, Region I, Region II, Region III, Region IV, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of Administration, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, and Office of Small Business and Civil Rights.\n\nOf these operations offices, NRC's major program components are the first two offices mentioned above.\n\nNRC's proposed FY 2015 budget is $1,059.5\u0026nbsp;million, with 3,895.9 full-time equivalents (FTE), 90 percent of which is recovered by fees. This is an increase of $3.6\u0026nbsp;million, including 65.1 FTE, compared to FY 2014.\u003Cref name=budget\u003E{{cite web|title=Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2015 (NUREG-1100, Volume 30)|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/v30/|work=NUREG-1100, Volume 30|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|date=March 2014}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nNRC headquarters offices are located in unincorporated [[North Bethesda, Maryland]] (although the mailing address for two of the three main buildings in the complex list the city as [[Rockville, MD]]), and there are four regional offices.\n\n===Regions===\n{{main|Regions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}\n[[File:Figure 2- Map of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regions and 37 Agreement States (14450812744) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the NRC regions]]\n\nThe NRC territory is broken down into four geographical regions; until the late 1990s, there was a Region V office in [[Walnut Creek, California]] which was absorbed into Region IV, and Region V was dissolved.\n\n* [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I|Region I]], located in [[King of Prussia, Pennsylvania]], oversees the [[northeastern United States|northeastern states]].\n* [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II|Region II]], located in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], oversees most of the [[southeastern United States|southeastern states]].\n* [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III|Region III]], located in [[Lisle, Illinois]], oversees the [[midwestern United States|Midwest]].\n* [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV|Region IV]], located in [[Arlington, Texas]], oversees the [[western United States|western]] and [[South Central United States|south central states]].\n\nIn these four regions NRC oversees the operation of [[List of nuclear reactors#United States|US nuclear reactors]], namely 94 power-producing reactors,\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/power.html|title=Power Reactors}}\u003C/ref\u003E and 31 non-power-producing, or research and test reactors.\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/map-nonpower-reactors.html|title = Map of Research and Test Reactor Sites}}\u003C/ref\u003E Oversight is done on several levels. For example:\n\n* Each power-producing reactor site has resident inspectors, who monitor day-to-day operations.\n* Numerous special inspection teams, with many different specialties, routinely conduct inspections at each site.\n\n==Recordkeeping system==\nNRC has a library, which also contains online document collections.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=NRC Document Collections|url=https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014}}\u003C/ref\u003E In 1999 it started an electronic repository called ADAMS, the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=FAQ About the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System|url=https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/faq.html#1|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014}}\u003C/ref\u003E for its public inspection reports, correspondence, and other technical documents written by NRC staff, contractors, and licensees. It has been upgraded in October 2010 and is now webbased. Of documents from 1980 to 1999 only some have abstracts and/or full text, most are citations. Documents from before 1980 are available in paper or microfiche formats. Copies of these older documents or classified documents can be applied for with a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|FOIA]] request.\n\n==Training and accreditation==\n[[Image:Agency headquarters Graphic.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Commission headquarters]]\nNRC conducts audits and training inspections, observes the National Nuclear Accrediting Board meetings, and nominates some members.\n\nThe 1980 Kemeny Commission's report\u003Cref name=KC\u003E{{cite web|title=Kemeny Commission findings: Oversight|work=Committee Report|publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|access-date=21 May 2014|author=US Congress. House Committee on Science and Technology. Subcommittee on Energy Research and Production, US President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island|pages=40–129|date=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0jRAAAAMAAJ\u0026q=Kemeny+Commission+Findings}}\u003C/ref\u003E after the [[Three Mile Island accident]] recommended that the nuclear energy industry \"set and police its own standards of excellence\".\u003Cref name=BAS\u003E{{cite journal|last=Lanouette|first=William|title=The Kemeny Commission Report|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|volume=36|issue=1|date=January 1980|pages=20–24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAoAAAAAMBAJ\u0026q=Kemeny+Commission\u0026pg=PA47|access-date=21 May 2014|bibcode=1980BuAtS..36a..20L|doi=10.1080/00963402.1980.11458680}}\u003C/ref\u003E The nuclear industry founded the [[Institute of Nuclear Power Operations]] (INPO) within 9 months to establish personnel training and qualification. The industry through INPO created the 'National Academy for Nuclear Training Program' either as early as 1980\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=National Academy for Nuclear Training Program|url=http://www.nei.org/Careers-Education/Education-Resources/Resources-for-Teachers-and-Students/Scholarships-Internships-and-Fellowships/Industry-Scholarships-and-Fellowships-in-Nuclear-E/National-Academy-for-Nuclear-Training-Program|work=websute|publisher=Nuclear Energy Institute nei.org|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NEI|year=2014}}\u003C/ref\u003E or in September 1985 per the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]].\u003Cref name=IAEA\u003E{{cite journal|last=Pate|first=Zack T.|title=INPO's impact in the USA|journal=International Atomic Energy Agency Bulletin|date=Autumn 1986|pages=60–62|publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency}}\u003C/ref\u003E INPO refers to NANT as \"our National Academy for Nuclear Training\" on its website.\u003Cref name=inpo\u003E{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc.html|title=About us|work=website|publisher=Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)|author=Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)|year=2012}}\u003C/ref\u003E NANT integrates and standardizes the training programs of INPO and US nuclear energy companies, offers training scholarships and interacts with the 'National Nuclear Accrediting Board'. This Board is closely related to the National Academy for Nuclear Training, not a government body, and referred to as independent by INPO,\u003Cref name=inpo /\u003E the Nuclear Energy Institute, and nuclear utilities.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=PG\u0026E Senior Vice President Appointed to National Nuclear Accrediting Board|url=http://www.pge.com/myhome/edusafety/systemworks/dcpp/newsmedia/pressrelease/archive/pge_senior_vice_president_appointed_to_national_nuclear_accrediting_board.shtml|work=website|publisher=Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation|access-date=21 May 2014|date=11 February 2013|quote=The independent National Nuclear Accrediting Board evaluates operator and technical training programs for nuclear plants throughout the industry, ensuring that accredited training programs meet the highest standards for excellence and incorporate best practices.}}\u003C/ref\u003E but not by the NRC, all of whom are represented on the board.\n\nThe 1982 [[Nuclear Waste Policy Act]] directed NRC in Section 306 to issue regulations or \"other appropriate regulatory guidance\" on training of nuclear plant personnel. Since the nuclear industry already had developed training and accreditation, NRC issued a policy statement in 1985, endorsing the INPO program. NRC has a memorandum of agreement with INPO and \"monitors INPO activities by observing accreditation team visits and the monthly NNAB meetings\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=The United States of America National Report for the Convention on Nuclear Safety|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1650/initial/|work=NUREG-1650|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|pages=11–15|date=September 2001|quote=In accordance with its memorandum of agreement with the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), the NRC monitors INPO accreditation activities as part of its assessment of the effectiveness of the industry's training programs. (The NRC also monitors the selected performance areas of its licensees as part of its assessment.) The NRC monitors INPO activities by observing accreditation team visits and the monthly National Nuclear Accrediting Board meetings.}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nIn 1993, NRC endorsed the industry's approach to training that had been used for nearly a decade through its 'Training Rule'.\u003Cref name=nrc\u003E{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/related-documents.html|author= NRc|work=website|title= Related Documents and Other Resources}}\u003C/ref\u003E In February 1994, NRC passed the 'Operator Requalification Rule' 59 FR 5938, Feb. 9, 1994,\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=Renewal of Licenses and Requalification Requirements for Licensed Operators|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1994-02-09/html/94-2927.htm|work=Federal Register Volume 59, Number 27|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=February 9, 1994}}\u003C/ref\u003E allowing each nuclear power plant company -rather than the agency- to conduct the operator licensing renewal examination every six years, eliminating the requirement of NRC-administered written requalification examination.\n\nIn 1999, NRC issued a final rule on operator initial licensing examination,\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=Initial Licensed Operator Examination Requirements|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/op-licensing-files/v64n78p19868.txt|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=23 April 1999|work=Federal Register Volume 64, Number 78}}\u003C/ref\u003E that allows, but does not require, companies to \"prepare, proctor, and grade\" their own operator initial licensing examinations. Facilities can \"upon written request\" continue to have the examinations prepared and administered by NRC staff, but if a company volunteers to prepare the examination, NRC continues to approve and administer it.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=Subpart E—Written Examinations and Operating Tests|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part055/part055-0040.html|work=NRC Regulations (10 CFR) PART 55—Operators licenses, § 55.40 Implementation.|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=23 April 1999}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nSince 2000 meetings between NRC and applicants or licensees have been open to the public.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=Staff Meetings Open to the Public: Final Policy Statement|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2000-09-20/html/00-24161.htm|work=Federal Register Volume 65 Number 183|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=20 September 2000}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n==Terrorism concerns and threats==\n[[Image:NRC building.JPG|thumb|right|NRC headquarters outside [[Rockville, Maryland]]]]\nTerrorist attacks such as those executed by [[al-Qaeda]] on [[New York City]] and [[Washington, D.C.]], on [[September 11 attacks|September\u0026nbsp;11, 2001]], and in [[London]] on [[7 July 2005 London bombings|July\u0026nbsp;7, 2005]], have prompted fears that extremist groups might use radioactive [[dirty bomb]]s in further attacks in the United States and elsewhere.\u003Cref name=wash\u003E{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402291_pf.html|title= After A Nuclear 9/11|newspaper=Washington Post|date=25 March 2008|author=Jay Davis}}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref name=kittrie\u003E[http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf Averting Catastrophe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607150719/http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf |date=2010-06-07 }} p. 338.\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref name=nyt\u003E{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE0D7143EF933A25750C0A9629C8B63|title= A Nuclear 9/11|date=10 March 2004|author=Nicholas Kristof|newspaper=NY Times}}\u003C/ref\u003E\nIn March 2007, undercover investigators from the [[Government Accountability Office]] set up a false company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a dirty bomb. According to the GAO report, NRC officials did not visit the company or attempt to personally interview its executives. Instead, within 28 days, the NRC mailed the license to the West Virginia postal box. Upon receipt of the license, GAO officials were able to easily modify its stipulations and remove a limit on the amount of radioactive material they could buy. A spokesman for the NRC said that the agency considered the radioactive devices a \"lower-level threat\"; a bomb built with the materials could have contaminated an area about the length of a city block but would not have presented an immediate health hazard.\u003Cref name=nyt2\u003E{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/us/12nuke.html?_r=1\u0026hp\u0026oref=slogin|title= A Nuclear Ruse Uncovers Holes in U.S. Security|date=12 July 2012|newspaper= NY Times}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n==Prospective nuclear units==\n{{Main|Nuclear renaissance in the United States}}\nBetween 2007 and 2009, 13 companies applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for construction and operating licenses to build 25 new [[nuclear power]] reactors in the [[United States]].\nHowever, the case for widespread nuclear plant construction was eroded due to abundant natural gas supplies, slow electricity demand growth in a weak U.S. economy, lack of financing, and uncertainty following the [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]].\u003Cref name=us12/\u003E Many license applications for proposed new reactors were suspended or cancelled.\u003Cref name=eo\u003EEileen O'Grady. [http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64N5S420100524 Entergy says nuclear remains costly] ''Reuters'', May 25, 2010.\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003ETerry Ganey. [http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/apr/23/amerenue-pulls-plug-callaway-2/ AmerenUE pulls plug on project] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713074254/http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/apr/23/amerenue-pulls-plug-callaway-2/ |date=2012-07-13 }} ''Columbia Daily Tribune'', April 23, 2009.\u003C/ref\u003E Only a few new reactors will enter service by 2020.\u003Cref name=us12\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}\u003C/ref\u003E These will not be the cheapest energy options available, but they are an attractive investment for utilities because the government mandates that taxpayers pay for construction in advance.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/business/energy-environment/nuclear-powers-future-may-hinge-on-georgia-project.html?ref=matthewlwald |title=Atomic Power's Green Light or Red Flag |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 11, 2013 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/experts-even-higher-costs-and-more-headaches-ahead-for-nuclear-power-in-2012-2011-12-28 |title=Experts: Even higher costs and more headaches for nuclear power in 2012 |date=28 December 2011 |work=MarketWatch }}\u003C/ref\u003E In 2013, four aging reactors were permanently closed: San Onofre 2 and 3 in California, Crystal River 3 in Florida, and Kewaunee in Wisconsin.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.thebulletin.org/nuclear-aging-not-so-graceful |title= Nuclear aging: Not so graceful |author=Mark Cooper |date=18 June 2013 |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists }}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref name=mw11111\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/business/energy-environment/aging-nuclear-plants-are-closing-but-for-economic-reasons.html?ref=matthewlwald |title=Nuclear Plants, Old and Uncompetitive, Are Closing Earlier Than Expected |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 14, 2013 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E [[Vermont Yankee]], in Vernon, was shut down on December 29, 2014, following many protests. New York State is seeking to close [[Indian Point Energy Center]], in Buchanan, 30 miles from New York City.\u003Cref name=mw11111/\u003E\n\nIn 2019 the NRC approved a second 20-year licence extension for [[Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station|Turkey Point]] units 3 and 4, the first time NRC had extended licences to 80 years total lifetime. Similar extensions for about 20 reactors are planned or intended, with more expected in the future. This will reduce demand for replacement new builds.\u003Cref name=wnn-20191206\u003E{{cite news |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Turkey-Point-licensed-for-80-years-of-operation |title=Turkey Point licensed for 80 years of operation |publisher=World Nuclear News |date=6 December 2019 |access-date=9 December 2019}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n== Controversy, concerns, and criticisms before 2011==\nByrne and Hoffman wrote in 1996, that since the 1980s the NRC has generally favored the interests of nuclear industry, and been unduly responsive to industry concerns, while failing to pursue tough regulation. The NRC has often sought to hamper or deny public access to the regulatory process, and created new barriers to public participation.\u003Cref\u003EJohn Byrne and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers, p. 160.\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n[[Barack Obama]], when running for [[President of the United States of America|president]] in 2007, said that the five-member NRC had become \"captive of the industries that it regulates\".\u003Cref name=\"salon-elliot\"/\u003E\n\nNumerous different observers have criticized the NRC as an example of [[regulatory capture]]\u003Cref name=\"salon-elliot\"\u003E{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/news/japan_earthquake/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/17/jeff_merrifield_nuclear_energy_institute|author=Justin Elliott|title=Ex-regulator flacking for pro-nuke lobby|work= Salon.com|date=17 March 2011|access-date=18 March 2011}}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0401_nuclear_meltdown_kaufmann.aspx |title=Preventing Nuclear Meltdown: Assessing Regulatory Failure in Japan and the United States |author=Daniel Kaufmann |date=April 1, 2011 |work=Brookings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406062959/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0401_nuclear_meltdown_kaufmann.aspx |archive-date=April 6, 2011 }}\u003C/ref\u003E The NRC has been accused of having conflicting roles as regulator and \"salesman\" in a 2011 Reuters article,\u003Cref name=reuters\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-industry-nrc-idUSTRE73H0PL20110418 |title=Exclusive: U.S. nuclear regulator a policeman or salesman? |author1=Ben Berkowitz |author2=Roberta Rampton |name-list-style=amp |date=April 18, 2011 |work=Reuters }}\u003C/ref\u003E doing an inadequate job by the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]],\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/03/28/28greenwire-japanese-nuclear-reactors-us-safety-to-take-ce-30444.html |title=Japanese Nuclear Reactors, U.S. Safety to Take Center Stage on Capitol Hill This Week|author=Hannah Northey |date=28 March 2011|work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E and the agency approval process has been called a \"rubber stamp\".\u003Cref name=\"motherjones\"\u003E{{cite web|author=Kate Sheppard|url=http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/japan-nuclear-regulatory-commission|title=Is the Government's Nuclear Regulator Up to the Job?|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=17 March 2011|access-date=18 March 2011}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n[[Frank N. von Hippel]] wrote in March 2011, that despite the 1979 [[Three Mile Island accident]] in Pennsylvania, the NRC has often been too timid in ensuring that America's commercial reactors are operated safely:\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\nNuclear power regulation is a textbook example of the problem of \"regulatory capture\" — in which an industry gains control of an agency meant to regulate it. Regulatory capture can be countered only by vigorous public scrutiny and Congressional oversight, but in the 32 years since Three Mile Island, interest in nuclear regulation has declined precipitously.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/opinion/24Von-Hippel.html?_r=2\u0026scp=1\u0026sq=frank%20von%20hippel\u0026st=cse |title=It Could Happen Here |author=Frank Von Hippel |date=23 March 2011|work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\u003C/blockquote\u003E\n\nAn article in the [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] stated that many forms of NRC regulatory failure exist, including regulations ignored by the common consent of NRC and industry:\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\nA worker (named [[George Galatis]]) at the [[Millstone Nuclear Power Plant]] in Connecticut kept warning management, that the spent fuel rods were being put too quickly into the spent storage pool and that the number of rods in the pool exceeded specifications. Management ignored him, so he went directly to the NRC, which eventually admitted that it knew of both of the forbidden practices, which happened at many plants, but chose to ignore them. The whistleblower was fired and blacklisted.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/6/44.full |title=Fukushima and the inevitability of accidents |author=Charles Perrow |date=November–December 2011 |volume=67 |issue=6 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |pages= 44–52 |bibcode=2011BuAtS..67f..44P |doi=10.1177/0096340211426395 |s2cid=144904813 }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\u003C/blockquote\u003E\n\nIn Vermont, the day before the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]] that [[Fukushima I nuclear accidents|damaged Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant]], the NRC approved a 20-year extension for the license of [[Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant]], although the [[Vermont state legislature]] voted overwhelmingly to deny an extension.\u003Cref name=\"motherjones\" /\u003E The plant had been found to be leaking [[Radionuclide|radioactive materials]] through a network of underground pipes, which [[Entergy]] had denied under oath even existed. At a hearing in 2009 Tony Klein, chairman of the [[Vermont House of Representatives|Vermont House]] Natural Resources and Energy Committee had asked the NRC about the pipes and the NRC also did not know they existed.\u003Cref name=\"motherjones\" /\u003E\n\nIn March 2011, the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]] released a study critical of the NRC's 2010 performance as a regulator. The UCS said that over the years, it had found the NRC's enforcement of safety rules has not been \"timely, consistent, or effective\" and it cited 14 \"near-misses\" at U.S. plants in 2010 alone.\u003Cref name=\"wapo-yang\"\u003E{{cite news|author=Jia Lynn Yang| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/democrats-step-up-pressure-on-nuclear-regulators-over-disaster-preparedness/2011/03/17/ABLd66n_story.html|title=Democrats step up pressure on nuclear regulators over disaster preparedness|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 18, 2011|access-date= 19 March 2011}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nIn April 2011, Reuters reported that diplomatic cables showed NRC sometimes being used as a sales tool to help push American technology to foreign governments, when \"lobbying for the purchase of equipment made by [[Westinghouse Electric Company]] and other domestic manufacturers\". This gives the appearance of a regulator which is acting in a commercial capacity, \"raising concerns about a potential [[conflict of interest]]\".\u003Cref name=reuters /\u003E\n\nSan Clemente Green, an environmental group opposed to the continued operation of the [[San Onofre Nuclear Plant]], said in 2011 that instead of being a watchdog, the NRC too often rules in favor of nuclear plant operators.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/28/anti-nuclear-protest-planned-at-nrc-meeting/ |title=Anti-nuclear protest planned at NRC meeting |author=Onell R. Soto |date=April 28, 2011 |work=SignOnSanDiego }}\u003C/ref\u003E{{third-party-inline|date=August 2014}}\n\n=== Nuclear Reactor License Renewal Program ===\nCritics have long charged that NRC has intentionally misled the public by dismissing critical nuclear safety and environmental issues. One example involves the license renewal program that NRC initiated to extend the operating licenses for the nation's fleet of aging commercial nuclear reactors. [[Environmental impact statement]]s (EIS) were prepared for each reactor to extend the operational period from 40 to 60 years. One study examined the EISs and found significant flaws, included failure to consider significant issues of concern.\u003Cref name=\"The EIS Book 2014\"\u003E{{Cite book|title=The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements|chapter=1|year=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1466583634}}\u003C/ref\u003E It also found that the NRC management had significantly underestimated the risk and consequences posed by a severe reactor accident such as a full-scale nuclear meltdown. NRC management asserted, without scientific evidence, that the risk of such accidents were so \"Small\" that the impacts could be dismissed and therefore no analysis of human and environmental was even performed. Such a conclusion is scientifically indefensible given the experience of the [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island]], [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]], and [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima]] accidents. Another finding was that NRC had concealed the risk posed to the public at large by disregarding one of the most important EIS requirements, mandating that [[cumulative impacts]] be assessed (40 Code of Federal Regulations §1508.7). By disregarding this basic requirement, NRC effectively misrepresented the risk posed to the nation by approximately two orders of magnitude (i.e., the true risk is about 100 greater than NRC represented). These findings were collaborated in a final report prepared by a special Washington State Legislature Nuclear Power Task Force, titled, \"Doesnt NRC Address Consequences of Severe Accidents in EISs for re-licensing?\"\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web |url=http://leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/NEJSTF/Documents/14%2009%2025/Nuclear_Power.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220174111/http://leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/NEJSTF/Documents/14%2009%2025/Nuclear_Power.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-20 |url-status=dead }}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref name=\"The EIS Book 2014\"/\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite book|title=The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements|chapter=5|year=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1466583634}}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite book|title=Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments: A Users Guide to Best Professional Practices|chapter=8|publisher=CRC Press|year=2012}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n== Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 ==\n[[Gregory Jaczko]] was chairman of the NRC when the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] occurred in Japan. Jaczko looked for lessons for the US, and strengthened security regulations for [[nuclear power plant]]s. For example, he supported the requirement that new plants to be able to withstand an aircraft crash.\u003Cref name=nrc /\u003E On February 9, 2012, Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4–1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing [[Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]] in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]], saying \"I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}\u003C/ref\u003E In July 2011, Mark Cooper said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is \"on the defensive to prove it is doing its job of ensuring safety\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/4/8.abstract |title=The implications of Fukushima: The US perspective |author=Mark Cooper |date=July 2011 |volume=67 |issue=4 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |page=9 |doi=10.1177/0096340211414840 |s2cid=146270304 }}\u003C/ref\u003E In October 2011, Jaczko described \"a tension between wanting to move in a timely manner on regulatory questions, and not wanting to go too fast\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-n-r-c-goes-social/ |title=The N.R.C. Goes Social |author=Matthew Wald |date=October 4, 2011 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nIn 2011 [[Edward J. Markey]], Democrat of Massachusetts, criticized the NRC's response to the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] and the decision-making on the proposed Westinghouse [[AP1000]] reactor design.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/u-s-regulator-says-fukushima-lessons-can-percolate/ |title=U.S. Regulator Says Fukushima Lessons Can Percolate |author=Matthew L. Wald |date=July 28, 2011 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/35103/page2/ |title=Fukushima's Spreading Impact |author=Peter Fairley |date=March 15, 2011 |work=Technology Review }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nIn 2011, a total of 45 groups and individuals from across the nation formally asked the NRC to suspend all licensing and other activities at 21 proposed nuclear reactor projects in 15 states until the NRC completed a thorough post-[[Fukushima nuclear disaster]] examination:\u003Cref name=groups45\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fukushima-fallout--45-groups-and-individuals-petition-nrc-to-suspend-all-nuclear-reactor-licensing-and-conduct-a-credible-three-mile-island-style-review-119844504.html|title=Fukushima Fallout: 45 Groups and Individuals Petition NRC to Suspend All Nuclear Reactor Licensing and Conduct a \"Credible\" Three Mile Island-Style Review |date=April 14, 2011 |work=PRNewswire}}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/04/14/anti-nuclear-movement-gears |title=Anti nuclear movement gears up |author=Carly Nairn |date=14 April 2011|work=San Francisco Bay Guardian }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E The petition seeks suspension of six existing reactor license renewal decisions ([[Columbia Generating Station]], WA [[Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station]], OH, [[Diablo Canyon Power Plant]], CA, [[Indian Point Energy Center]], NY, [[Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station]], MA, and [[Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant]], NH); 13 new reactor combined construction permit and operating license decisions ([[Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station]] Units 3 and 4, AL, Bell Bend, [[Callaway Nuclear Generating Station]], MO, [[Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Generating Station]], MD, [[Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant]], TX, [[Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station]], MI, [[Levy County Nuclear Power Plant]], FL [[North Anna Nuclear Generating Station]], VA, [[Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant]], NC, [[South Texas Nuclear Generating Station]], TX, [[Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station]], FL, [[Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]], GA, and [[William States Lee III Nuclear Generating Station]], SC);a construction permit decision (Bellefonte Units 1 and 2); and an operating license decision ([[Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station]], TN). In addition, the petition asks the NRC to halt proceedings to approve the standardized [[AP1000]] and [[Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor]] designs.\u003Cref name=groups45/\u003E\u003C/blockquote\u003E\n\nThe petitioners asked the NRC to supplement its own investigation by establishing an independent commission comparable to that set up in the wake of the less severe 1979 [[Three Mile Island accident]]. The petitioners included [[Public Citizen]], [[Southern Alliance for Clean Energy]], and San Luis Obispo [[Anti-nuclear groups in the United States#Mothers for Peace|Mothers for Peace]].\u003Cref name=groups45/\u003E\n\n=== Intentionally concealing reports concerning the risks of flooding ===\n{{More citations needed|section|date=May 2021}}\nThe flooding of [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima]] led to the meltdown of three reactor cores and release of radiation so high that 100,000 citizens were forced to evacuate. Following the Fukushima disaster, the NRC prepared a report in 2011 to examine the risk that dam failures posed on the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors. A redacted version of NRC's report on dam failures was posted on the NRC website on March 6. The original, un-redacted version was leaked to the public.\n\nThe un-redacted version which was leaked to the public highlights the threat that flooding poses to nuclear power plants located near large dams and substantiates claims that NRC management has intentionally misled the public for years about the severity of the flooding.\n\nThe leaked version of the report concluded that one-third of the U.S. nuclear fleet (34 plants) may face flooding hazards greater than they were designed to withstand. It also shows that NRC management was aware of some aspects of this risk for 15 years and yet it had done nothing to effectively address the problem. Some flooding events are so serious that they could result in a \"severe\" nuclear accident, up to, and including, a nuclear meltdown.\n\nThis criticism is collaborated by two NRC whistleblowers who accused their management of deliberately covering up information concerning the vulnerability of flooding, and of failing to take corrective actions despite being aware of these risks for years. Richard Perkins, a second risk engineer with the NRC and the lead author of the leaked report, filed a complaint with the agency's Inspector General, asserting that NRC staff had improperly redacted information from the public version of his report \"to prevent the disclosure of this safety information to the public because it will embarrass the agency.\" Perkins wrote. \"Concurrently, the NRC concealed the information from the public.\"\u003Cref name=\"ReferenceA\"\u003E{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/nuclear-plant-flood-threat-leak_n_1983005.html|last=Zeller|first=Tom|work=Huffpost|title=Leaked Report Suggests Long-Known Flood Threat To Nuclear Plants, Safety Advocates Say|date=October 19, 2012}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nLarry Criscione, a second NRC risk engineer also raised concerns about the NRC withholding information concerning the risk of flooding. He stated that assertions by NRC's management that plants are \"currently able to mitigate flooding events,\" was false.\n\nDavid Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer and safety advocate with the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]]: \"The redacted information shows that the NRC is lying to the American public about the safety of U.S. reactors,\" \u003Cref name=\"ReferenceA\"/\u003E\n\nThe [[Oconee Nuclear Station]] has been shown to be at particular risk from flooding. An NRC letter dated 2009 states that \"a [[Jocassee Dam|Jocassee Dam failure]] is a credible event\" It goes on to state that \"NRC staff expressed concerns that Duke has not demonstrated that the [null Oconee Nuclear Station] units will be adequately protected.\"\u003Cref\u003ENRC's July 2011 report on dam failures say that the 2009 letter is not publicly available; this quote ere is taken from the unredacted version of the NRC's July 2011 report\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nNRC's 2011 leaked report notes that \"dam failure incidents are common\". NRC estimated the odds that dams constructed like Jocassee will fail is about 1 in 3,600 failures per year. Oconee is licensed to operate for another 20 years. The odds of the Jocassee Dam failing over that period are 1 in 180. NRC requires risks to be investigated if they have a frequency of more than 1 in 10,000 years. For a reactor operating over a period of 40 years, these risks must be evaluated if they have a chance greater than a 1 in 250 of occurring.\n\nNRC identified 34 reactors that lie downstream from a total of more than 50 dams. More than half of these dams are roughly the size of the Jocassee dam. Assuming the NRC's failure rate applies to all of these dams, the chance that one will fail over the next 40 years is about one in four or 25 percent chance. This dam failure rate does not include risks posed by earthquakes or terrorism. Thus, the true probability may be much higher.\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/nuclear_power/floods-from-dam-failure-10-19-12.pdf|title=Union of Concerned Scientists, Dam Failures and Flooding at U.S. Nuclear Plant|access-date=September 6, 2019}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nThis raised a second and potentially larger issue. NRC recently completed its license renewal program which extended the operating licenses of the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors for an additional 20 years. NRC stated that the probability of a severe accident is so incredible that the consequences can be dismissed from the analysis of impacts in its relicensing [[environmental impact statement]]s (EIS). Yet this conflicts with NRC's internal analyses which concluded that flooding presented a serious human and environmental risk. Critics charge that if these relicensing EISs failed to evaluate the risks of flooding, then how can the public be confident that NRC did not mislead stakeholders concerning other risks such as the potential for a nuclear meltdown.\n\nNRC officials stated in June 2011 that US nuclear safety rules do not adequately weigh the risk of a single event that would knock out electricity from the grid and from emergency generators, as a quake and tsunami did in Japan.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/u-s-reactors-unprepared-for-total-power-loss-report-suggests/ |title=U.S. Reactors Unprepared for Total Power Loss, Report Suggests |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 15, 2011 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E {{As of|2011|10|alt = In October 2011}}, and NRC instructed agency staff to move forward with seven of the 12 safety recommendations put forward by a federal task force in July 2011. The recommendations include \"new standards aimed at strengthening operators' ability to deal with a complete loss of power, ensuring plants can withstand floods and earthquakes and improving emergency response capabilities\". The new safety standards will take up to five years to fully implement.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/188767-federal-regulators-agree-to-implement-tighter-nuclear-standards |title=Nuke regulators toughen safety rules |author=Andrew Restuccia |date=2011-10-20 |work=The Hill |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114112850/http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/188767-federal-regulators-agree-to-implement-tighter-nuclear-standards |archive-date=2012-01-14 }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n{{As of|2011|11|alt = In November 2011}}, Jaczko warned power companies against complacency and said the agency must \"push ahead with new rules prompted by the nuclear crisis in Japan, while also resolving long-running issues involving fire protection and a new analysis of earthquake risks\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827034738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=NRC chair warns nuclear industry against complacency, says it must resolve long-running issues |date=11 November 2011 |newspaper=Washington Post }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n==See also==\n{{div col|colwidth=30em}}\n* [[International Nuclear Regulators' Association]]\n* [[List of canceled nuclear plants in the United States]]\n* [[Nuclear power in the United States]]\n* [[Nuclear renaissance in the United States]]\n* [[Nuclear safety in the United States]]\n* [[Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]\n* [[Atomic Safety and Licensing Board]]\n{{div col end}}\n\n==References==\n{{Reflist|30em}}\n\n==External links==\n{{Commons category|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}\n* [https://www.nrc.gov/ Nuclear Regulatory Commission] (official website)\n* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/nuclear-regulatory-commission Nuclear Regulatory Commission] in the [[Federal Register]]\n* [http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/ NRC public blog]\n* [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/list-power-reactor-units.html NRC list of power-producing nuclear reactors]\n* [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power.html NRC list of non-power-producing reactors]\n* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071011083513/http://www.homestead.com/clonemaster/files/cancel.htm Canceled Nuclear Units Ordered in the US]\n* [https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo38828 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Policy and Governance Challenges: Joint Hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power and the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, February 28, 2013]\n* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080917222325/http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/the-future-of-the-nuclear-regulatory-commission The future of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission] in the [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]\n* [http://www.technicalreports.org/ Technical Report Archive and Image Library (TRAIL)] from technicalreports.org\n\n{{Authority control}}\n\n[[Category:Nuclear Regulatory Commission| ]]\n[[Category:Governmental nuclear organizations]]\n[[Category:Independent agencies of the United States government]]\n[[Category:Nuclear energy in the United States]]\n[[Category:Nuclear regulatory organizations]]\n[[Category:Nuclear history of the United States]]\n[[Category:1974 establishments in the United States]]\n[[Category:Government agencies established in 1974]]\n[[Category:Rockville, Maryland]]" ,"new_wikitext": "{{Short description|Government agency of the United States}}\n{{Infobox government agency\n|agency_name = Nuclear Regulatory Commission\n|nativename =\n|nativename_a =\n|nativename_r =\n|logo = US-NuclearRegulatoryCommission-Logo.svg\n|logo_width = 200px\n|logo_caption =\n|seal = Seal of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.png\n|seal_width = 140px\n|seal_caption =\n|image = Nuclear Regulatory Commission North Bethesda MD 2021-11-26 11-04-51 1.jpg\n|formed = {{start date and age|1975|1|19}}\n|preceding1 = [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]]\n|headquarters = [[North Bethesda, Maryland]]\n|employees = 3,186 (2018)\u003Cref name=\"Nuclear Regulatory Commission\"\u003Ehttps://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1822/ML18226A117.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n|budget = $937 million (2018) \u003Cref name=\"Nuclear Regulatory Commission\"/\u003E\n|chief1_name = [[Christopher T. Hanson]]\n|chief1_position = Chairman\n|website = {{url|http://www.nrc.gov}}\n|footnotes =\n}}\n\nThe '''Nuclear Regulatory Commission''' ('''NRC''') is an [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent agency of the United States government]] tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the [[Energy Reorganization Act of 1974]], the NRC began operations on January 19, 1975, as one of two successor agencies to the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]]. Its functions include overseeing [[Nuclear reactor safety system|reactor safety]] and security, administering reactor licensing and renewal, licensing [[radioactive materials]], [[radionuclide]] safety, and managing the storage, security, recycling, and disposal of [[spent fuel]].\n\n==History==\n[[File:NRC Briefing on Human Capital and EEO (51245895192).jpg|thumb|The commission meets in 2021]]\nPrior to 1975 the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] was in charge of matters regarding radionuclides. The AEC was dissolved, because it was perceived as unduly favoring the industry it was charged with regulating.\u003Cref name=atom19\u003EJohn Byrne and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers, p. 163.\u003C/ref\u003E The NRC was formed as an independent commission to oversee [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear energy]] matters, oversight of [[nuclear medicine]], and [[nuclear safety and security]].\n\nThe U.S. AEC became the [[Energy Research and Development Administration]] (ERDA) in 1975, responsible for development and oversight of [[nuclear weapon]]s. Research and promotion of civil uses of radioactive materials, such as for nuclear [[non-destructive testing]], nuclear medicine, and [[nuclear power]], was split into the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science \u0026 Technology within ERDA by the same act. In 1977, ERDA became the [[United States Department of Energy]] (DOE). In 2000, the [[National Nuclear Security Administration]] was created as a subcomponent of DOE, responsible for nuclear weapons.\u003Cref name=wellc/\u003E\n\nTwelve years into NRC operations, a 1987 Congressional report entitled \"NRC Coziness with Industry\"\u003Cref name=congress\u003E{{cite web|title=NRC' COZINESS- WITH\" INDUSTRY\" Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fails to Maintain Arms Length Relationship with the Nuclear Industry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaDs5KO2hncC|work=An Investigative Report 100th\" Congress First Session|access-date=21 May 2014|author=U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Subcommittee on General, Oversight and Investigations|date=1987}}\u003C/ref\u003E concluded, that the NRC \"has not maintained an arms length regulatory posture with the commercial nuclear power industry ... [and] has, in some critical areas, abdicated its role as a regulator altogether\".\u003Cref name=atom19/\u003E To cite three examples:\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\n\nA 1986 Congressional report found that NRC staff had provided valuable technical assistance to the utility seeking an operating license for the controversial [[Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant|Seabrook plant]]. In the late 1980s, the NRC 'created a policy' of non-enforcement by asserting its discretion not to enforce license conditions; between September 1989 and 1994, the 'NRC has either waived or chosen not to enforce regulations at nuclear power reactors over 340 times'. Finally, critics charge that the NRC has ceded important aspects of regulatory authority to the industry's own Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), an organization formed by utilities in response to the Three Mile Island Accident.\u003Cref name=atom19/\u003E\n\u003C/blockquote\u003E\n\nThe origins and development of NRC regulatory processes and policies are explained in five volumes of history published by the [[University of California Press]]. These are:\u003Cref name=wellc/\u003E\n* ''Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation 1946–1962'' (1984).\n* ''Containing the Atom: Nuclear Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963–1971'' (1992).\n* ''Permissible Dose: A History of Radiation Protection in the Twentieth Century'' (2000)\n* ''[[Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective]]'' (2004)\n* ''The Road to Yucca Mountain: The Development of Radioactive Waste Policy in the United States'' (2009).\n\nThe NRC has produced a booklet, ''A Short History of Nuclear Regulation 1946–2009'', which outlines key issues in NRC history.\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/brochures/br0175/|title=NRC: A Short History of Nuclear Regulation, 1946–2009 (NUREG/BR-0175, Revision 2)|website=www.nrc.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-03-04}}\u003C/ref\u003E [[Thomas Wellock]], a former academic, is the NRC historian. Before joining the NRC, Wellock wrote ''[[Critical Masses: Opposition to Nuclear Power in California, 1958–1978]]''.\u003Cref name=wellc\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/history.html#nrctoday |title=NRC history |author=NRC |year=2013 |work= NRC website}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n==Mission and commissioners==\nThe NRC's mission is to regulate the nation's civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment.\nThe NRC's regulatory mission covers three main areas{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}:\n* ''Reactors'' – Commercial reactors for generating electric power and research and test reactors used for research, testing, and training\n* ''Materials'' – Uses of nuclear materials in medical, industrial, and academic settings and facilities that produce nuclear fuel\n* ''Waste'' – Transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear materials and waste, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities from service.\n\nThe NRC is headed by five commissioners appointed by the [[President of the United States]] and confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] for five-year terms. One of them is designated by the president to be the chairman and official spokesperson of the commission.\n\nThe current chairman is [[Christopher T. Hanson]]. [[President Biden]] designated Hanson as chairman of the NRC effective January 20, 2021.\u003Cref name=nei-20210128/\u003E\n\n===List of chairmen\u003Cref name=\"NRC-FormerChairmen\"\u003E{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html|title=Former NRC Chairman|publisher=Nuclear Regulatory Commission|access-date=6 April 2017}}\u003C/ref\u003E===\n{| class=\"wikitable\" style=\"text-align:center\"\n|-\n!rowspan=\"1\"|No.\n!rowspan=\"1\"|Name (chair)\n!rowspan=\"1\"|Photo\n!colspan=\"2\"|Term of office\n!rowspan=\"1\"|Appointed by\n|-\n|1\n|[[Bill Anders]]\n|[[File:William Anders.jpg|70px]]\n|January 19, 1975\n|April 20, 1976\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[Gerald Ford]]\n|-\n|2\n|[[Marcus A. Rowden]]\n|[[File:Marcus_Rowden.jpg|70px]]\n|January 19, 1975\n|January 15, 1977\n|-\n|3\n|[[Joseph M. Hendrie]]\n|[[File:Joseph_Hendrie.jpg|70px]]\n|March 3, 1977\n|December 7, 1979\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[Jimmy Carter]]\n|-\n|4\n|[[John F. Ahearne]]\n|[[File:John_Ahearne.jpg|70px]]\n|December 7, 1979\n|March 2, 1981\n|-\n|5\n|[[Nunzio J. Palladino]]\n|[[File:Nunzio_Palladino.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1981\n|June 30, 1986\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[Ronald Reagan]]\n|-\n|6\n|[[Lando W. Zech Jr.]]\n|[[File:Lando_Zech_Jr.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1986 \n|June 3, 1989\n|-\n|7\n|[[Kenneth Monroe Carr]]\n|[[File:Kenneth Monroe Carr.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1989\n|June 30, 1991\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[George H.W Bush]]\n|-\n|8\n|[[Ivan Selin]]\n|[[File:Ivan_Selin.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1991\n|June 30, 1995\n|-\n|9\n|[[Shirley Ann Jackson]]\n|[[File:Shirley Ann Jackson World Economic Forum 2010.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 1995\n|June 30, 1999\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[Bill Clinton]]\n|-\n|10\n|[[Richard Meserve]]\n|[[File:Richard Meserve.jpg|70px]]\n|October 29, 1999\n|March 31, 2003\n|-\n|11\n|[[Nils J. Diaz]]\n|[[File:Nils J. Diaz, former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.gif|70px]]\n|April 1, 2003 \n|June 30, 2006\n|!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"2\"|[[George W. Bush]]\n|-\n|12\n|[[Dale E. Klein]]\n|[[File:Dale Klein.jpg|70px]]\n|July 1, 2006\n|May 13, 2009\n|-\n|13\n|[[Gregory Jaczko]]\n|[[File:Gregory B. Jaczko.jpg|70px]]\n|May 13, 2009\n|July 9, 2012\n!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"3\"|[[Barack Obama]]\n|-\n|14\n|[[Allison Macfarlane]]\n|[[File:Chairman Allison M. Macfarlane.jpg|70px]]\n|July 9, 2012\n|December 31, 2014\n|-\n|15\n|[[Stephen G. Burns]]\u003Cref name=\"burns\"\u003E{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/burns.html|title=Stephen G. Burns|access-date=6 April 2017}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n|[[File:Chairman Stephen G. Burns.jpg|70px]]\n|January 1, 2015\n|January 23, 2017\n|-\n|16\n|[[Kristine Svinicki]]\u003Cref name=\"svnicki\"\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/svinicki.html |title=Chairman Kristine L. Svinicki |access-date=6 April 2017}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n|[[File:Kristine Svinicki.jpg|70px]]\n|January 23, 2017\n|January 20, 2021\n!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"1\"|[[Donald Trump]]\n|-\n|17\n|[[Christopher T. Hanson]]\u003Cref name=nei-20210128\u003E{{cite news |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsbiden-appoints-new-head-of-nrc-8476871 |title=Biden appoints new head of NRC |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=28 January 2021 |access-date=1 February 2021}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n|[[File:Commissioner Christopher T. Hanson.jpg|88x88px]]\n|January 20, 2021\n|Incumbent\n!style=\"font-weight:normal\" rowspan=\"1\"|[[Joe Biden]]\n|-\n|}\n\n===List of commissioners\u003Cref name=\"NRC-FormerComm\"\u003E{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html|title=Former NRC Commissioners|publisher=Nuclear Regulatory Commission|access-date=6 April 2017}}\u003C/ref\u003E===\n*[[Marcus A. Rowden]] January 19, 1975 – April 20, 1977\n*[[Edward A. Mason]] January 19, 1975 – January 15, 1977\n*[[Victor Gilinsky]] January 19, 1975 – June 30, 1984\n*[[Richard T. Kennedy]] January 19, 1975 – June 30, 1980\n*[[Joseph M. Hendrie]] August 9, 1977 – June 30, 1981\n*[[Peter A. Bradford]] August 15, 1977 – March 12, 1982\n*[[John F. Ahearne]] July 31, 1978 – June 30, 1983\n*[[Nunzio J. Palladiono]] July 1, 1981 – June 30, 1986\n*[[Thomas M. Roberts]] August 3, 1981 – June 30, 1990\n*[[James K. Asselstine]] May 17, 1982 – June 30, 1987\n*[[Frederick M. Bernthal]] August 4, 1983 – June 30, 1988\n*[[Lando W. Zech Jr.]] July 3, 1984 – June 30, 1989\n*[[Kenneth Monroe Carr]] August 14, 1986 – June 30, 1991\n*[[Kenneth C. Rogers]] August 7, 1987 – June 30, 1997\n*[[James R. Curtiss]] October 20, 1988 – June 30, 1993\n*[[Forrest J. Remick]] December 1, 1989 – June 30, 1994\n*[[Ivan Selin]] July 1, 1991 – June 30, 1995\n*[[E. Gail de Planque]] December 16, 1991 – June 30, 1995\n*[[Shirley Ann Jackson]] May 2, 1995 – June 30, 1999\n*[[Greta J. Dicus]] February 15, 1996 – June 30, 2003\n*[[Nils J. Diaz]] August 23, 1996 – June 30, 2006\n*[[Edward McGaffigan Jr.]] August 28, 1996 – September 2, 2007\n*[[Jeffrey S. Merrifield]] October 23, 1998 – June 30, 2007\n*[[Richard A. Meserve]] October 29, 1999 – March 31, 2003\n*[[Gregory Jaczko]] January 21, 2005 – July 9, 2012\n*[[Peter B. Lyons]] January 25, 2005 – June 30, 2009\n*[[Dale E. Klein]] July 1, 2006 – March 29, 2010\n*[[Kristine Svinicki]] March 28, 2008 – January 20, 2021\n*[[George Apostolakis]] March 29, 2010 – June 30, 2014\n*[[William D. Magwood IV]] March 29, 2010 – August 31, 2014\n*[[William C. Ostendorff]] March 29, 2010 – June 30, 2016\n*[[Allison Macfarlane]] July 9, 2012 – December 31, 2014\n*[[Jeff Baran]] October 14, 2014 – Present\n*[[Stephen G. Burns]] November 4, 2014 – April 30, 2019\n*[[Annie Caputo]] May 29, 2018 – June 30, 2021\n*[[David A. Wright]] May 30, 2018 – Present \n*[[Christopher T. Hanson]] June 30, 2020 – Present\n\n==Organization==\n[[File:NRC Organizational Chart (32234530897).jpg|thumb|NRC Organizational Chart in February 2019]]\nThe NRC consists of the commission on the one hand and offices of the executive director for Operations on the other.\u003Cref name=org\u003E{{cite web|title=Organization \u0026 Functions|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization.html|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|date=27 November 2013}}\u003C/ref\u003E\nThe commission is divided into two committees (Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards and Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes) and one Board, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, as well as eight commission staff offices (Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication, Office of Congressional Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, Office of International Programs, Office of Public Affairs, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Executive Director for Operations).\n\n[[Christopher T. Hanson]] is the chairman of the NRC.\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commfuncdesc.html|title=NRC: The Commission|website=www.nrc.gov|access-date=February 24, 2021}}\u003C/ref\u003E There are 14 Executive Director for Operations offices:\nOffice of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, [[Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation]], Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Office of Enforcement, which investigates reports by [[nuclear power whistleblowers]], specifically the Allegations Program,\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/allegations-resp.html |title= Allegations |date=28 June 2013|publisher=NRC}}\u003C/ref\u003E Office of Investigations, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, Region I, Region II, Region III, Region IV, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of Administration, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, and Office of Small Business and Civil Rights.\n\nOf these operations offices, NRC's major program components are the first two offices mentioned above.\n\nNRC's proposed FY 2015 budget is $1,059.5\u0026nbsp;million, with 3,895.9 full-time equivalents (FTE), 90 percent of which is recovered by fees. This is an increase of $3.6\u0026nbsp;million, including 65.1 FTE, compared to FY 2014.\u003Cref name=budget\u003E{{cite web|title=Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2015 (NUREG-1100, Volume 30)|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/v30/|work=NUREG-1100, Volume 30|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|date=March 2014}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nNRC headquarters offices are located in unincorporated [[North Bethesda, Maryland]] (although the mailing address for two of the three main buildings in the complex list the city as [[Rockville, MD]]), and there are four regional offices.\n\n===Regions===\n{{main|Regions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}\n[[File:Figure 2- Map of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regions and 37 Agreement States (14450812744) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the NRC regions]]\n\nThe NRC territory is broken down into four geographical regions; until the late 1990s, there was a Region V office in [[Walnut Creek, California]] which was absorbed into Region IV, and Region V was dissolved.\n\n* [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I|Region I]], located in [[King of Prussia, Pennsylvania]], oversees the [[northeastern United States|northeastern states]].\n* [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II|Region II]], located in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], oversees most of the [[southeastern United States|southeastern states]].\n* [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III|Region III]], located in [[Lisle, Illinois]], oversees the [[midwestern United States|Midwest]].\n* [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV|Region IV]], located in [[Arlington, Texas]], oversees the [[western United States|western]] and [[South Central United States|south central states]].\n\nIn these four regions NRC oversees the operation of [[List of nuclear reactors#United States|US nuclear reactors]], namely 94 power-producing reactors,\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/power.html|title=Power Reactors}}\u003C/ref\u003E and 31 non-power-producing, or research and test reactors.\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/map-nonpower-reactors.html|title = Map of Research and Test Reactor Sites}}\u003C/ref\u003E Oversight is done on several levels. For example:\n\n* Each power-producing reactor site has resident inspectors, who monitor day-to-day operations.\n* Numerous special inspection teams, with many different specialties, routinely conduct inspections at each site.\n\n==Recordkeeping system==\nNRC has a library, which also contains online document collections.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=NRC Document Collections|url=https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014}}\u003C/ref\u003E In 1999 it started an electronic repository called ADAMS, the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=FAQ About the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System|url=https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/faq.html#1|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014}}\u003C/ref\u003E for its public inspection reports, correspondence, and other technical documents written by NRC staff, contractors, and licensees. It has been upgraded in October 2010 and is now webbased. Of documents from 1980 to 1999 only some have abstracts and/or full text, most are citations. Documents from before 1980 are available in paper or microfiche formats. Copies of these older documents or classified documents can be applied for with a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|FOIA]] request.\n\n==Training and accreditation==\n[[Image:Agency headquarters Graphic.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Commission headquarters]]\nNRC conducts audits and training inspections, observes the National Nuclear Accrediting Board meetings, and nominates some members.\n\nThe 1980 Kemeny Commission's report\u003Cref name=KC\u003E{{cite web|title=Kemeny Commission findings: Oversight|work=Committee Report|publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|access-date=21 May 2014|author=US Congress. House Committee on Science and Technology. Subcommittee on Energy Research and Production, US President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island|pages=40–129|date=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0jRAAAAMAAJ\u0026q=Kemeny+Commission+Findings}}\u003C/ref\u003E after the [[Three Mile Island accident]] recommended that the nuclear energy industry \"set and police its own standards of excellence\".\u003Cref name=BAS\u003E{{cite journal|last=Lanouette|first=William|title=The Kemeny Commission Report|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|volume=36|issue=1|date=January 1980|pages=20–24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAoAAAAAMBAJ\u0026q=Kemeny+Commission\u0026pg=PA47|access-date=21 May 2014|bibcode=1980BuAtS..36a..20L|doi=10.1080/00963402.1980.11458680}}\u003C/ref\u003E The nuclear industry founded the [[Institute of Nuclear Power Operations]] (INPO) within 9 months to establish personnel training and qualification. The industry through INPO created the 'National Academy for Nuclear Training Program' either as early as 1980\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=National Academy for Nuclear Training Program|url=http://www.nei.org/Careers-Education/Education-Resources/Resources-for-Teachers-and-Students/Scholarships-Internships-and-Fellowships/Industry-Scholarships-and-Fellowships-in-Nuclear-E/National-Academy-for-Nuclear-Training-Program|work=websute|publisher=Nuclear Energy Institute nei.org|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NEI|year=2014}}\u003C/ref\u003E or in September 1985 per the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]].\u003Cref name=IAEA\u003E{{cite journal|last=Pate|first=Zack T.|title=INPO's impact in the USA|journal=International Atomic Energy Agency Bulletin|date=Autumn 1986|pages=60–62|publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency}}\u003C/ref\u003E INPO refers to NANT as \"our National Academy for Nuclear Training\" on its website.\u003Cref name=inpo\u003E{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc.html|title=About us|work=website|publisher=Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)|author=Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)|year=2012}}\u003C/ref\u003E NANT integrates and standardizes the training programs of INPO and US nuclear energy companies, offers training scholarships and interacts with the 'National Nuclear Accrediting Board'. This Board is closely related to the National Academy for Nuclear Training, not a government body, and referred to as independent by INPO,\u003Cref name=inpo /\u003E the Nuclear Energy Institute, and nuclear utilities.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=PG\u0026E Senior Vice President Appointed to National Nuclear Accrediting Board|url=http://www.pge.com/myhome/edusafety/systemworks/dcpp/newsmedia/pressrelease/archive/pge_senior_vice_president_appointed_to_national_nuclear_accrediting_board.shtml|work=website|publisher=Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation|access-date=21 May 2014|date=11 February 2013|quote=The independent National Nuclear Accrediting Board evaluates operator and technical training programs for nuclear plants throughout the industry, ensuring that accredited training programs meet the highest standards for excellence and incorporate best practices.}}\u003C/ref\u003E but not by the NRC, all of whom are represented on the board.\n\nThe 1982 [[Nuclear Waste Policy Act]] directed NRC in Section 306 to issue regulations or \"other appropriate regulatory guidance\" on training of nuclear plant personnel. Since the nuclear industry already had developed training and accreditation, NRC issued a policy statement in 1985, endorsing the INPO program. NRC has a memorandum of agreement with INPO and \"monitors INPO activities by observing accreditation team visits and the monthly NNAB meetings\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=The United States of America National Report for the Convention on Nuclear Safety|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1650/initial/|work=NUREG-1650|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|pages=11–15|date=September 2001|quote=In accordance with its memorandum of agreement with the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), the NRC monitors INPO accreditation activities as part of its assessment of the effectiveness of the industry's training programs. (The NRC also monitors the selected performance areas of its licensees as part of its assessment.) The NRC monitors INPO activities by observing accreditation team visits and the monthly National Nuclear Accrediting Board meetings.}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nIn 1993, NRC endorsed the industry's approach to training that had been used for nearly a decade through its 'Training Rule'.\u003Cref name=nrc\u003E{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/related-documents.html|author= NRc|work=website|title= Related Documents and Other Resources}}\u003C/ref\u003E In February 1994, NRC passed the 'Operator Requalification Rule' 59 FR 5938, Feb. 9, 1994,\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=Renewal of Licenses and Requalification Requirements for Licensed Operators|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1994-02-09/html/94-2927.htm|work=Federal Register Volume 59, Number 27|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=February 9, 1994}}\u003C/ref\u003E allowing each nuclear power plant company -rather than the agency- to conduct the operator licensing renewal examination every six years, eliminating the requirement of NRC-administered written requalification examination.\n\nIn 1999, NRC issued a final rule on operator initial licensing examination,\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=Initial Licensed Operator Examination Requirements|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/op-licensing-files/v64n78p19868.txt|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=23 April 1999|work=Federal Register Volume 64, Number 78}}\u003C/ref\u003E that allows, but does not require, companies to \"prepare, proctor, and grade\" their own operator initial licensing examinations. Facilities can \"upon written request\" continue to have the examinations prepared and administered by NRC staff, but if a company volunteers to prepare the examination, NRC continues to approve and administer it.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=Subpart E—Written Examinations and Operating Tests|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part055/part055-0040.html|work=NRC Regulations (10 CFR) PART 55—Operators licenses, § 55.40 Implementation.|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=23 April 1999}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nSince 2000 meetings between NRC and applicants or licensees have been open to the public.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web|title=Staff Meetings Open to the Public: Final Policy Statement|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2000-09-20/html/00-24161.htm|work=Federal Register Volume 65 Number 183|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=20 September 2000}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n==Terrorism concerns and threats==\n[[Image:NRC building.JPG|thumb|right|NRC headquarters outside [[Rockville, Maryland]]]]\nTerrorist attacks such as those executed by [[al-Qaeda]] on [[New York City]] and [[Washington, D.C.]], on [[September 11 attacks|September\u0026nbsp;11, 2001]], and in [[London]] on [[7 July 2005 London bombings|July\u0026nbsp;7, 2005]], have prompted fears that extremist groups might use radioactive [[dirty bomb]]s in further attacks in the United States and elsewhere.\u003Cref name=wash\u003E{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402291_pf.html|title= After A Nuclear 9/11|newspaper=Washington Post|date=25 March 2008|author=Jay Davis}}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref name=kittrie\u003E[http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf Averting Catastrophe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607150719/http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf |date=2010-06-07 }} p. 338.\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref name=nyt\u003E{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE0D7143EF933A25750C0A9629C8B63|title= A Nuclear 9/11|date=10 March 2004|author=Nicholas Kristof|newspaper=NY Times}}\u003C/ref\u003E\nIn March 2007, undercover investigators from the [[Government Accountability Office]] set up a false company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a dirty bomb. According to the GAO report, NRC officials did not visit the company or attempt to personally interview its executives. Instead, within 28 days, the NRC mailed the license to the West Virginia postal box. Upon receipt of the license, GAO officials were able to easily modify its stipulations and remove a limit on the amount of radioactive material they could buy. A spokesman for the NRC said that the agency considered the radioactive devices a \"lower-level threat\"; a bomb built with the materials could have contaminated an area about the length of a city block but would not have presented an immediate health hazard.\u003Cref name=nyt2\u003E{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/us/12nuke.html?_r=1\u0026hp\u0026oref=slogin|title= A Nuclear Ruse Uncovers Holes in U.S. Security|date=12 July 2012|newspaper= NY Times}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n==Prospective nuclear units==\n{{Main|Nuclear renaissance in the United States}}\nBetween 2007 and 2009, 13 companies applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for construction and operating licenses to build 25 new [[nuclear power]] reactors in the [[United States]].\nHowever, the case for widespread nuclear plant construction was eroded due to abundant natural gas supplies, slow electricity demand growth in a weak U.S. economy, lack of financing, and uncertainty following the [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]].\u003Cref name=us12/\u003E Many license applications for proposed new reactors were suspended or cancelled.\u003Cref name=eo\u003EEileen O'Grady. [http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64N5S420100524 Entergy says nuclear remains costly] ''Reuters'', May 25, 2010.\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003ETerry Ganey. [http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/apr/23/amerenue-pulls-plug-callaway-2/ AmerenUE pulls plug on project] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713074254/http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/apr/23/amerenue-pulls-plug-callaway-2/ |date=2012-07-13 }} ''Columbia Daily Tribune'', April 23, 2009.\u003C/ref\u003E Only a few new reactors will enter service by 2020.\u003Cref name=us12\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}\u003C/ref\u003E These will not be the cheapest energy options available, but they are an attractive investment for utilities because the government mandates that taxpayers pay for construction in advance.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/business/energy-environment/nuclear-powers-future-may-hinge-on-georgia-project.html?ref=matthewlwald |title=Atomic Power's Green Light or Red Flag |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 11, 2013 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/experts-even-higher-costs-and-more-headaches-ahead-for-nuclear-power-in-2012-2011-12-28 |title=Experts: Even higher costs and more headaches for nuclear power in 2012 |date=28 December 2011 |work=MarketWatch }}\u003C/ref\u003E In 2013, four aging reactors were permanently closed: San Onofre 2 and 3 in California, Crystal River 3 in Florida, and Kewaunee in Wisconsin.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.thebulletin.org/nuclear-aging-not-so-graceful |title= Nuclear aging: Not so graceful |author=Mark Cooper |date=18 June 2013 |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists }}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref name=mw11111\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/business/energy-environment/aging-nuclear-plants-are-closing-but-for-economic-reasons.html?ref=matthewlwald |title=Nuclear Plants, Old and Uncompetitive, Are Closing Earlier Than Expected |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 14, 2013 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E [[Vermont Yankee]], in Vernon, was shut down on December 29, 2014, following many protests. New York State is seeking to close [[Indian Point Energy Center]], in Buchanan, 30 miles from New York City.\u003Cref name=mw11111/\u003E\n\nIn 2019 the NRC approved a second 20-year licence extension for [[Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station|Turkey Point]] units 3 and 4, the first time NRC had extended licences to 80 years total lifetime. Similar extensions for about 20 reactors are planned or intended, with more expected in the future. This will reduce demand for replacement new builds.\u003Cref name=wnn-20191206\u003E{{cite news |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Turkey-Point-licensed-for-80-years-of-operation |title=Turkey Point licensed for 80 years of operation |publisher=World Nuclear News |date=6 December 2019 |access-date=9 December 2019}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n== Controversy, concerns, and criticisms before 2011==\nByrne and Hoffman wrote in 1996, that since the 1980s the NRC has generally favored the interests of nuclear industry, and been unduly responsive to industry concerns, while failing to pursue tough regulation. The NRC has often sought to hamper or deny public access to the regulatory process, and created new barriers to public participation.\u003Cref\u003EJohn Byrne and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers, p. 160.\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n[[Barack Obama]], when running for [[President of the United States of America|president]] in 2007, said that the five-member NRC had become \"captive of the industries that it regulates\".\u003Cref name=\"salon-elliot\"/\u003E\n\nNumerous different observers have criticized the NRC as an example of [[regulatory capture]]\u003Cref name=\"salon-elliot\"\u003E{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/news/japan_earthquake/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/17/jeff_merrifield_nuclear_energy_institute|author=Justin Elliott|title=Ex-regulator flacking for pro-nuke lobby|work= Salon.com|date=17 March 2011|access-date=18 March 2011}}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0401_nuclear_meltdown_kaufmann.aspx |title=Preventing Nuclear Meltdown: Assessing Regulatory Failure in Japan and the United States |author=Daniel Kaufmann |date=April 1, 2011 |work=Brookings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406062959/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0401_nuclear_meltdown_kaufmann.aspx |archive-date=April 6, 2011 }}\u003C/ref\u003E The NRC has been accused of having conflicting roles as regulator and \"salesman\" in a 2011 Reuters article,\u003Cref name=reuters\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-industry-nrc-idUSTRE73H0PL20110418 |title=Exclusive: U.S. nuclear regulator a policeman or salesman? |author1=Ben Berkowitz |author2=Roberta Rampton |name-list-style=amp |date=April 18, 2011 |work=Reuters }}\u003C/ref\u003E doing an inadequate job by the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]],\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/03/28/28greenwire-japanese-nuclear-reactors-us-safety-to-take-ce-30444.html |title=Japanese Nuclear Reactors, U.S. Safety to Take Center Stage on Capitol Hill This Week|author=Hannah Northey |date=28 March 2011|work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E and the agency approval process has been called a \"rubber stamp\".\u003Cref name=\"motherjones\"\u003E{{cite web|author=Kate Sheppard|url=http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/japan-nuclear-regulatory-commission|title=Is the Government's Nuclear Regulator Up to the Job?|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=17 March 2011|access-date=18 March 2011}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n[[Frank N. von Hippel]] wrote in March 2011, that despite the 1979 [[Three Mile Island accident]] in Pennsylvania, the NRC has often been too timid in ensuring that America's commercial reactors are operated safely:\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\nNuclear power regulation is a textbook example of the problem of \"regulatory capture\" — in which an industry gains control of an agency meant to regulate it. Regulatory capture can be countered only by vigorous public scrutiny and Congressional oversight, but in the 32 years since Three Mile Island, interest in nuclear regulation has declined precipitously.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/opinion/24Von-Hippel.html?_r=2\u0026scp=1\u0026sq=frank%20von%20hippel\u0026st=cse |title=It Could Happen Here |author=Frank Von Hippel |date=23 March 2011|work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\u003C/blockquote\u003E\n\nAn article in the [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] stated that many forms of NRC regulatory failure exist, including regulations ignored by the common consent of NRC and industry:\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E\nA worker (named [[George Galatis]]) at the [[Millstone Nuclear Power Plant]] in Connecticut kept warning management, that the spent fuel rods were being put too quickly into the spent storage pool and that the number of rods in the pool exceeded specifications. Management ignored him, so he went directly to the NRC, which eventually admitted that it knew of both of the forbidden practices, which happened at many plants, but chose to ignore them. The whistleblower was fired and blacklisted.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/6/44.full |title=Fukushima and the inevitability of accidents |author=Charles Perrow |date=November–December 2011 |volume=67 |issue=6 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |pages= 44–52 |bibcode=2011BuAtS..67f..44P |doi=10.1177/0096340211426395 |s2cid=144904813 }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\u003C/blockquote\u003E\n\nIn Vermont, the day before the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]] that [[Fukushima I nuclear accidents|damaged Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant]], the NRC approved a 20-year extension for the license of [[Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant]], although the [[Vermont state legislature]] voted overwhelmingly to deny an extension.\u003Cref name=\"motherjones\" /\u003E The plant had been found to be leaking [[Radionuclide|radioactive materials]] through a network of underground pipes, which [[Entergy]] had denied under oath even existed. At a hearing in 2009 Tony Klein, chairman of the [[Vermont House of Representatives|Vermont House]] Natural Resources and Energy Committee had asked the NRC about the pipes and the NRC also did not know they existed.\u003Cref name=\"motherjones\" /\u003E\n\nIn March 2011, the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]] released a study critical of the NRC's 2010 performance as a regulator. The UCS said that over the years, it had found the NRC's enforcement of safety rules has not been \"timely, consistent, or effective\" and it cited 14 \"near-misses\" at U.S. plants in 2010 alone.\u003Cref name=\"wapo-yang\"\u003E{{cite news|author=Jia Lynn Yang| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/democrats-step-up-pressure-on-nuclear-regulators-over-disaster-preparedness/2011/03/17/ABLd66n_story.html|title=Democrats step up pressure on nuclear regulators over disaster preparedness|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 18, 2011|access-date= 19 March 2011}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nIn April 2011, Reuters reported that diplomatic cables showed NRC sometimes being used as a sales tool to help push American technology to foreign governments, when \"lobbying for the purchase of equipment made by [[Westinghouse Electric Company]] and other domestic manufacturers\". This gives the appearance of a regulator which is acting in a commercial capacity, \"raising concerns about a potential [[conflict of interest]]\".\u003Cref name=reuters /\u003E\n\nSan Clemente Green, an environmental group opposed to the continued operation of the [[San Onofre Nuclear Plant]], said in 2011 that instead of being a watchdog, the NRC too often rules in favor of nuclear plant operators.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/28/anti-nuclear-protest-planned-at-nrc-meeting/ |title=Anti-nuclear protest planned at NRC meeting |author=Onell R. Soto |date=April 28, 2011 |work=SignOnSanDiego }}\u003C/ref\u003E{{third-party-inline|date=August 2014}}\n\n=== Nuclear Reactor License Renewal Program ===\nCritics have long charged that NRC has intentionally misled the public by dismissing critical nuclear safety and environmental issues. One example involves the license renewal program that NRC initiated to extend the operating licenses for the nation's fleet of aging commercial nuclear reactors. [[Environmental impact statement]]s (EIS) were prepared for each reactor to extend the operational period from 40 to 60 years. One study examined the EISs and found significant flaws, included failure to consider significant issues of concern.\u003Cref name=\"The EIS Book 2014\"\u003E{{Cite book|title=The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements|chapter=1|year=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1466583634}}\u003C/ref\u003E It also found that the NRC management had significantly underestimated the risk and consequences posed by a severe reactor accident such as a full-scale nuclear meltdown. NRC management asserted, without scientific evidence, that the risk of such accidents were so \"Small\" that the impacts could be dismissed and therefore no analysis of human and environmental was even performed. Such a conclusion is scientifically indefensible given the experience of the [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island]], [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]], and [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima]] accidents. Another finding was that NRC had concealed the risk posed to the public at large by disregarding one of the most important EIS requirements, mandating that [[cumulative impacts]] be assessed (40 Code of Federal Regulations §1508.7). By disregarding this basic requirement, NRC effectively misrepresented the risk posed to the nation by approximately two orders of magnitude (i.e., the true risk is about 100 greater than NRC represented). These findings were collaborated in a final report prepared by a special Washington State Legislature Nuclear Power Task Force, titled, \"Doesnt NRC Address Consequences of Severe Accidents in EISs for re-licensing?\"\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web |url=http://leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/NEJSTF/Documents/14%2009%2025/Nuclear_Power.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220174111/http://leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/NEJSTF/Documents/14%2009%2025/Nuclear_Power.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-20 |url-status=dead }}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref name=\"The EIS Book 2014\"/\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite book|title=The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements|chapter=5|year=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1466583634}}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite book|title=Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments: A Users Guide to Best Professional Practices|chapter=8|publisher=CRC Press|year=2012}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n== Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 ==\n\n[[Gregory Jaczko]] was chairman of the NRC when the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] occurred in Japan. Jaczko looked for lessons for the US, and strengthened security regulations for [[nuclear power plant]]s. For example, he supported the requirement that new plants to be able to withstand an aircraft crash.\u003Cref name=nrc /\u003E On February 9, 2012, Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4–1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing [[Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]] in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]], saying \"I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}\u003C/ref\u003E In July 2011, Mark Cooper said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is \"on the defensive to prove it is doing its job of ensuring safety\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/4/8.abstract |title=The implications of Fukushima: The US perspective |author=Mark Cooper |date=July 2011 |volume=67 |issue=4 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |page=9 |doi=10.1177/0096340211414840 |s2cid=146270304 }}\u003C/ref\u003E In October 2011, Jaczko described \"a tension between wanting to move in a timely manner on regulatory questions, and not wanting to go too fast\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-n-r-c-goes-social/ |title=The N.R.C. Goes Social |author=Matthew Wald |date=October 4, 2011 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nIn 2011 [[Edward J. Markey]], Democrat of Massachusetts, criticized the NRC's response to the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] and the decision-making on the proposed Westinghouse [[AP1000]] reactor design.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/u-s-regulator-says-fukushima-lessons-can-percolate/ |title=U.S. Regulator Says Fukushima Lessons Can Percolate |author=Matthew L. Wald |date=July 28, 2011 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/35103/page2/ |title=Fukushima's Spreading Impact |author=Peter Fairley |date=March 15, 2011 |work=Technology Review }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nIn 2011, a total of 45 groups and individuals from across the nation formally asked the NRC to suspend all licensing and other activities at 21 proposed nuclear reactor projects in 15 states until the NRC completed a thorough post-[[Fukushima nuclear disaster]] examination:\u003Cref name=groups45\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fukushima-fallout--45-groups-and-individuals-petition-nrc-to-suspend-all-nuclear-reactor-licensing-and-conduct-a-credible-three-mile-island-style-review-119844504.html|title=Fukushima Fallout: 45 Groups and Individuals Petition NRC to Suspend All Nuclear Reactor Licensing and Conduct a \"Credible\" Three Mile Island-Style Review |date=April 14, 2011 |work=PRNewswire}}\u003C/ref\u003E\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/04/14/anti-nuclear-movement-gears |title=Anti nuclear movement gears up |author=Carly Nairn |date=14 April 2011|work=San Francisco Bay Guardian }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n\u003Cblockquote\u003E The petition seeks suspension of six existing reactor license renewal decisions ([[Columbia Generating Station]], WA [[Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station]], OH, [[Diablo Canyon Power Plant]], CA, [[Indian Point Energy Center]], NY, [[Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station]], MA, and [[Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant]], NH); 13 new reactor combined construction permit and operating license decisions ([[Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station]] Units 3 and 4, AL, Bell Bend, [[Callaway Nuclear Generating Station]], MO, [[Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Generating Station]], MD, [[Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant]], TX, [[Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station]], MI, [[Levy County Nuclear Power Plant]], FL [[North Anna Nuclear Generating Station]], VA, [[Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant]], NC, [[South Texas Nuclear Generating Station]], TX, [[Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station]], FL, [[Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]], GA, and [[William States Lee III Nuclear Generating Station]], SC);a construction permit decision (Bellefonte Units 1 and 2); and an operating license decision ([[Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station]], TN). In addition, the petition asks the NRC to halt proceedings to approve the standardized [[AP1000]] and [[Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor]] designs.\u003Cref name=groups45/\u003E\u003C/blockquote\u003E\n\nThe petitioners asked the NRC to supplement its own investigation by establishing an independent commission comparable to that set up in the wake of the less severe 1979 [[Three Mile Island accident]]. The petitioners included [[Public Citizen]], [[Southern Alliance for Clean Energy]], and San Luis Obispo [[Anti-nuclear groups in the United States#Mothers for Peace|Mothers for Peace]].\u003Cref name=groups45/\u003E\n\n=== Intentionally concealing reports concerning the risks of flooding ===\n{{More citations needed|section|date=May 2021}}\nThe flooding of [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima]] led to the meltdown of three reactor cores and release of radiation so high that 100,000 citizens were forced to evacuate. Following the Fukushima disaster, the NRC prepared a report in 2011 to examine the risk that dam failures posed on the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors. A redacted version of NRC's report on dam failures was posted on the NRC website on March 6. The original, un-redacted version was leaked to the public.\n\nThe un-redacted version which was leaked to the public highlights the threat that flooding poses to nuclear power plants located near large dams and substantiates claims that NRC management has intentionally misled the public for years about the severity of the flooding.\n\nThe leaked version of the report concluded that one-third of the U.S. nuclear fleet (34 plants) may face flooding hazards greater than they were designed to withstand. It also shows that NRC management was aware of some aspects of this risk for 15 years and yet it had done nothing to effectively address the problem. Some flooding events are so serious that they could result in a \"severe\" nuclear accident, up to, and including, a nuclear meltdown.\n\nThis criticism is collaborated by two NRC whistleblowers who accused their management of deliberately covering up information concerning the vulnerability of flooding, and of failing to take corrective actions despite being aware of these risks for years. Richard Perkins, a second risk engineer with the NRC and the lead author of the leaked report, filed a complaint with the agency's Inspector General, asserting that NRC staff had improperly redacted information from the public version of his report \"to prevent the disclosure of this safety information to the public because it will embarrass the agency.\" Perkins wrote. \"Concurrently, the NRC concealed the information from the public.\"\u003Cref name=\"ReferenceA\"\u003E{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/nuclear-plant-flood-threat-leak_n_1983005.html|last=Zeller|first=Tom|work=Huffpost|title=Leaked Report Suggests Long-Known Flood Threat To Nuclear Plants, Safety Advocates Say|date=October 19, 2012}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nLarry Criscione, a second NRC risk engineer also raised concerns about the NRC withholding information concerning the risk of flooding. He stated that assertions by NRC's management that plants are \"currently able to mitigate flooding events,\" was false.\n\nDavid Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer and safety advocate with the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]]: \"The redacted information shows that the NRC is lying to the American public about the safety of U.S. reactors,\" \u003Cref name=\"ReferenceA\"/\u003E\n\nThe [[Oconee Nuclear Station]] has been shown to be at particular risk from flooding. An NRC letter dated 2009 states that \"a [[Jocassee Dam|Jocassee Dam failure]] is a credible event\" It goes on to state that \"NRC staff expressed concerns that Duke has not demonstrated that the [null Oconee Nuclear Station] units will be adequately protected.\"\u003Cref\u003ENRC's July 2011 report on dam failures say that the 2009 letter is not publicly available; this quote ere is taken from the unredacted version of the NRC's July 2011 report\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nNRC's 2011 leaked report notes that \"dam failure incidents are common\". NRC estimated the odds that dams constructed like Jocassee will fail is about 1 in 3,600 failures per year. Oconee is licensed to operate for another 20 years. The odds of the Jocassee Dam failing over that period are 1 in 180. NRC requires risks to be investigated if they have a frequency of more than 1 in 10,000 years. For a reactor operating over a period of 40 years, these risks must be evaluated if they have a chance greater than a 1 in 250 of occurring.\n\nNRC identified 34 reactors that lie downstream from a total of more than 50 dams. More than half of these dams are roughly the size of the Jocassee dam. Assuming the NRC's failure rate applies to all of these dams, the chance that one will fail over the next 40 years is about one in four or 25 percent chance. This dam failure rate does not include risks posed by earthquakes or terrorism. Thus, the true probability may be much higher.\u003Cref\u003E{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/nuclear_power/floods-from-dam-failure-10-19-12.pdf|title=Union of Concerned Scientists, Dam Failures and Flooding at U.S. Nuclear Plant|access-date=September 6, 2019}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nThis raised a second and potentially larger issue. NRC recently completed its license renewal program which extended the operating licenses of the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors for an additional 20 years. NRC stated that the probability of a severe accident is so incredible that the consequences can be dismissed from the analysis of impacts in its relicensing [[environmental impact statement]]s (EIS). Yet this conflicts with NRC's internal analyses which concluded that flooding presented a serious human and environmental risk. Critics charge that if these relicensing EISs failed to evaluate the risks of flooding, then how can the public be confident that NRC did not mislead stakeholders concerning other risks such as the potential for a nuclear meltdown.\n\nNRC officials stated in June 2011 that US nuclear safety rules do not adequately weigh the risk of a single event that would knock out electricity from the grid and from emergency generators, as a quake and tsunami did in Japan.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/u-s-reactors-unprepared-for-total-power-loss-report-suggests/ |title=U.S. Reactors Unprepared for Total Power Loss, Report Suggests |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 15, 2011 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E {{As of|2011|10|alt = In October 2011}}, and NRC instructed agency staff to move forward with seven of the 12 safety recommendations put forward by a federal task force in July 2011. The recommendations include \"new standards aimed at strengthening operators' ability to deal with a complete loss of power, ensuring plants can withstand floods and earthquakes and improving emergency response capabilities\". The new safety standards will take up to five years to fully implement.\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/188767-federal-regulators-agree-to-implement-tighter-nuclear-standards |title=Nuke regulators toughen safety rules |author=Andrew Restuccia |date=2011-10-20 |work=The Hill |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114112850/http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/188767-federal-regulators-agree-to-implement-tighter-nuclear-standards |archive-date=2012-01-14 }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n{{As of|2011|11|alt = In November 2011}}, Jaczko warned power companies against complacency and said the agency must \"push ahead with new rules prompted by the nuclear crisis in Japan, while also resolving long-running issues involving fire protection and a new analysis of earthquake risks\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827034738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=NRC chair warns nuclear industry against complacency, says it must resolve long-running issues |date=11 November 2011 |newspaper=Washington Post }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\nThe U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also been criticized for its reluctance to allow for innovation and experimentation, even controlled for and purportedly safe methods of deploying nuclear power that countries such as Poland are approving before the United States. As reported by [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] in May of 2022: {{blockquote|Oregon's NuScale Power signed an agreement with the Polish mining and processing firm KGHM to deploy NuScale's innovative small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Poland by 2029. At the U.N.'s Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November, NuScale contracted with a Romanian energy company to deploy its SMR technology in that country by 2028. NuScale has signed similar memoranda of understanding with electric power companies in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.\n\nThis kind of advanced energy technology will likely be powering homes and businesses in Europe before the first reactor is completed in the United States. That's because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in no hurry to help.}}\u003Cref name=\"America's Nuclear Reluctance – Reason\"\u003E{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Ronald |title=America's Nuclear Reluctance |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=25 May 2022}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n\n==See also==\n{{div col|colwidth=30em}}\n* [[International Nuclear Regulators' Association]]\n* [[List of canceled nuclear plants in the United States]]\n* [[Nuclear power in the United States]]\n* [[Nuclear renaissance in the United States]]\n* [[Nuclear safety in the United States]]\n* [[Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations]]\n* [[Atomic Safety and Licensing Board]]\n{{div col end}}\n\n==References==\n{{Reflist|30em}}\n\n==External links==\n{{Commons category|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}\n* [https://www.nrc.gov/ Nuclear Regulatory Commission] (official website)\n* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/nuclear-regulatory-commission Nuclear Regulatory Commission] in the [[Federal Register]]\n* [http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/ NRC public blog]\n* [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/list-power-reactor-units.html NRC list of power-producing nuclear reactors]\n* [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power.html NRC list of non-power-producing reactors]\n* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071011083513/http://www.homestead.com/clonemaster/files/cancel.htm Canceled Nuclear Units Ordered in the US]\n* [https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo38828 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Policy and Governance Challenges: Joint Hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power and the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, February 28, 2013]\n* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080917222325/http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/the-future-of-the-nuclear-regulatory-commission The future of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission] in the [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]\n* [http://www.technicalreports.org/ Technical Report Archive and Image Library (TRAIL)] from technicalreports.org\n\n{{Authority control}}\n\n[[Category:Nuclear Regulatory Commission| ]]\n[[Category:Governmental nuclear organizations]]\n[[Category:Independent agencies of the United States government]]\n[[Category:Nuclear energy in the United States]]\n[[Category:Nuclear regulatory organizations]]\n[[Category:Nuclear history of the United States]]\n[[Category:1974 establishments in the United States]]\n[[Category:Government agencies established in 1974]]\n[[Category:Rockville, Maryland]]" ,"edit_diff": "@@ -306,4 +306,5 @@\n \n == Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 ==\n+\n [[Gregory Jaczko]] was chairman of the NRC when the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] occurred in Japan. Jaczko looked for lessons for the US, and strengthened security regulations for [[nuclear power plant]]s. For example, he supported the requirement that new plants to be able to withstand an aircraft crash.\u003Cref name=nrc /\u003E On February 9, 2012, Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4–1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing [[Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]] in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]], saying \"I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}\u003C/ref\u003E In July 2011, Mark Cooper said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is \"on the defensive to prove it is doing its job of ensuring safety\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/4/8.abstract |title=The implications of Fukushima: The US perspective |author=Mark Cooper |date=July 2011 |volume=67 |issue=4 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |page=9 |doi=10.1177/0096340211414840 |s2cid=146270304 }}\u003C/ref\u003E In October 2011, Jaczko described \"a tension between wanting to move in a timely manner on regulatory questions, and not wanting to go too fast\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-n-r-c-goes-social/ |title=The N.R.C. Goes Social |author=Matthew Wald |date=October 4, 2011 |work=New York Times }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n \n@@ -341,4 +342,8 @@\n \n {{As of|2011|11|alt = In November 2011}}, Jaczko warned power companies against complacency and said the agency must \"push ahead with new rules prompted by the nuclear crisis in Japan, while also resolving long-running issues involving fire protection and a new analysis of earthquake risks\".\u003Cref\u003E{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827034738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=NRC chair warns nuclear industry against complacency, says it must resolve long-running issues |date=11 November 2011 |newspaper=Washington Post }}\u003C/ref\u003E\n+\n+The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also been criticized for its reluctance to allow for innovation and experimentation, even controlled for and purportedly safe methods of deploying nuclear power that countries such as Poland are approving before the United States. As reported by [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] in May of 2022: {{blockquote|Oregon's NuScale Power signed an agreement with the Polish mining and processing firm KGHM to deploy NuScale's innovative small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Poland by 2029. At the U.N.'s Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November, NuScale contracted with a Romanian energy company to deploy its SMR technology in that country by 2028. NuScale has signed similar memoranda of understanding with electric power companies in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.\n+\n+This kind of advanced energy technology will likely be powering homes and businesses in Europe before the first reactor is completed in the United States. That's because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in no hurry to help.}}\u003Cref name=\"America's Nuclear Reluctance – Reason\"\u003E{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Ronald |title=America's Nuclear Reluctance |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=25 May 2022}}\u003C/ref\u003E\n \n ==See also==\n" ,"new_size":57848,"old_size":56495,"edit_delta":1353,"added_lines":["","","The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also been criticized for its reluctance to allow for innovation and experimentation, even controlled for and purportedly safe methods of deploying nuclear power that countries such as Poland are approving before the United States. As reported by [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] in May of 2022: {{blockquote|Oregon's NuScale Power signed an agreement with the Polish mining and processing firm KGHM to deploy NuScale's innovative small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Poland by 2029. At the U.N.'s Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November, NuScale contracted with a Romanian energy company to deploy its SMR technology in that country by 2028. NuScale has signed similar memoranda of understanding with electric power companies in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.","", "This kind of advanced energy technology will likely be powering homes and businesses in Europe before the first reactor is completed in the United States. That's because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in no hurry to help.}}\u003Cref name=\"America's Nuclear Reluctance – Reason\"\u003E{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Ronald |title=America's Nuclear Reluctance |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=25 May 2022}}\u003C/ref\u003E"],"removed_lines":[],"added_links":["https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email"],"all_links":["https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/history.html#nrctoday","https://books.google.com/books?id=yaDs5KO2hncC","https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/brochures/br0175/","https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsbiden-appoints-new-head-of-nrc-8476871", "https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html","https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/burns.html","https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/svinicki.html","https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization.html","https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commfuncdesc.html","https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/allegations-resp.html","https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/v30/","https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/power.html","https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/map-nonpower-reactors.html","https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/","https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/faq.html#1","https://books.google.com/books?id=d0jRAAAAMAAJ\u0026q=Kemeny+Commission+Findings","https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAoAAAAAMBAJ\u0026q=Kemeny+Commission\u0026pg=PA47","https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980BuAtS..36a..20L","//doi.org/10.1080%2F00963402.1980.11458680", 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title="User:Th78blue"><bdi>Th78blue</bdi></a> <span class="mw-usertoollinks">(<a href="/wiki/User_talk:Th78blue" class="mw-usertoollinks-talk" title="User talk:Th78blue">talk</a> | <a href="/wiki/Special:Contributions/Th78blue" class="mw-usertoollinks-contribs" title="Special:Contributions/Th78blue">contribs</a>)</span> triggered <a href="/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/1030" title="Special:AbuseFilter/1030">filter 1,030</a>, performing the action "edit" on <a href="/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_Regulatory_Commission&redirect=no" title="Nuclear Regulatory Commission">Nuclear Regulatory Commission</a>. Actions taken: none; Filter description: Adding URLs with tracking parameters (<a href="/wiki/Special:AbuseFilter/examine/log/32679535" title="Special:AbuseFilter/examine/log/32679535">examine</a> | <a href="/w/index.php?title=Nuclear_Regulatory_Commission&diff=prev&oldid=1089817344" title="Nuclear Regulatory Commission">diff</a>)</span></p><h3>Changes made in edit</h3><table class="diff diff-type-table diff-contentalign-left diff-editfont-monospace" data-mw="interface"> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /> <col class="diff-marker" /> <col class="diff-content" /><tr> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno"></td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno"></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-deleted"><br /></td> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-added"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-deleted"><div>== Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 ==</div></td> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-added"><div>== Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 ==</div></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="diff-empty diff-side-deleted"></td> <td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td> <td class="diff-addedline diff-side-added"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-deleted"><div>[[Gregory Jaczko]] was chairman of the NRC when the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] occurred in Japan. Jaczko looked for lessons for the US, and strengthened security regulations for [[nuclear power plant]]s. For example, he supported the requirement that new plants to be able to withstand an aircraft crash.<ref name=nrc /> On February 9, 2012, Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4–1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing [[Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]] in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]], saying "I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}</ref> In July 2011, Mark Cooper said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is "on the defensive to prove it is doing its job of ensuring safety".<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/4/8.abstract |title=The implications of Fukushima: The US perspective |author=Mark Cooper |date=July 2011 |volume=67 |issue=4 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |page=9 |doi=10.1177/0096340211414840 |s2cid=146270304 }}</ref> In October 2011, Jaczko described "a tension between wanting to move in a timely manner on regulatory questions, and not wanting to go too fast".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-n-r-c-goes-social/ |title=The N.R.C. Goes Social |author=Matthew Wald |date=October 4, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref></div></td> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-added"><div>[[Gregory Jaczko]] was chairman of the NRC when the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] occurred in Japan. Jaczko looked for lessons for the US, and strengthened security regulations for [[nuclear power plant]]s. For example, he supported the requirement that new plants to be able to withstand an aircraft crash.<ref name=nrc /> On February 9, 2012, Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4–1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing [[Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]] in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]], saying "I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}</ref> In July 2011, Mark Cooper said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is "on the defensive to prove it is doing its job of ensuring safety".<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/4/8.abstract |title=The implications of Fukushima: The US perspective |author=Mark Cooper |date=July 2011 |volume=67 |issue=4 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |page=9 |doi=10.1177/0096340211414840 |s2cid=146270304 }}</ref> In October 2011, Jaczko described "a tension between wanting to move in a timely manner on regulatory questions, and not wanting to go too fast".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-n-r-c-goes-social/ |title=The N.R.C. Goes Social |author=Matthew Wald |date=October 4, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-deleted"><br /></td> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-added"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno"></td> <td colspan="2" class="diff-lineno"></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-deleted"><br /></td> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-added"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-deleted"><div>{{As of|2011|11|alt = In November 2011}}, Jaczko warned power companies against complacency and said the agency must "push ahead with new rules prompted by the nuclear crisis in Japan, while also resolving long-running issues involving fire protection and a new analysis of earthquake risks".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827034738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=NRC chair warns nuclear industry against complacency, says it must resolve long-running issues |date=11 November 2011 |newspaper=Washington Post }}</ref></div></td> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-added"><div>{{As of|2011|11|alt = In November 2011}}, Jaczko warned power companies against complacency and said the agency must "push ahead with new rules prompted by the nuclear crisis in Japan, while also resolving long-running issues involving fire protection and a new analysis of earthquake risks".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827034738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=NRC chair warns nuclear industry against complacency, says it must resolve long-running issues |date=11 November 2011 |newspaper=Washington Post }}</ref></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="diff-empty diff-side-deleted"></td> <td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td> <td class="diff-addedline diff-side-added"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="diff-empty diff-side-deleted"></td> <td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td> <td class="diff-addedline diff-side-added"><div>The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also been criticized for its reluctance to allow for innovation and experimentation, even controlled for and purportedly safe methods of deploying nuclear power that countries such as Poland are approving before the United States. As reported by [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] in May of 2022: {{blockquote|Oregon's NuScale Power signed an agreement with the Polish mining and processing firm KGHM to deploy NuScale's innovative small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Poland by 2029. At the U.N.'s Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November, NuScale contracted with a Romanian energy company to deploy its SMR technology in that country by 2028. NuScale has signed similar memoranda of understanding with electric power companies in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.</div></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="diff-empty diff-side-deleted"></td> <td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td> <td class="diff-addedline diff-side-added"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" class="diff-empty diff-side-deleted"></td> <td class="diff-marker" data-marker="+"></td> <td class="diff-addedline diff-side-added"><div>This kind of advanced energy technology will likely be powering homes and businesses in Europe before the first reactor is completed in the United States. That's because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in no hurry to help.}}<ref name="America's Nuclear Reluctance – Reason">{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Ronald |title=America's Nuclear Reluctance |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=25 May 2022}}</ref></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-deleted"><br /></td> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-added"><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-deleted"><div>==See also==</div></td> <td class="diff-marker"></td> <td class="diff-context diff-side-added"><div>==See also==</div></td> </tr> </table><h3>Action parameters</h3><table class="mw-abuselog-details"><thead><tr><th>Variable</th><th>Value</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr class="mw-abuselog-details-user_editcount mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Edit count of the user (<code>user_editcount</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">32864</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-user_name mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Name of the user account (<code>user_name</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'Th78blue'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-user_age mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Age of the user account (<code>user_age</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">23148964</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-user_groups mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Groups (including implicit) the user is in (<code>user_groups</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">[ 0 => 'extendedconfirmed', 1 => 'patroller', 2 => 'reviewer', 3 => 'rollbacker', 4 => '*', 5 => 'user', 6 => 'autoconfirmed' ]</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-user_rights mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Rights that the user has (<code>user_rights</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">[ 0 => 'extendedconfirmed', 1 => 'patrol', 2 => 'review', 3 => 'autoreview', 4 => 'autoconfirmed', 5 => 'editsemiprotected', 6 => 'rollback', 7 => 'createaccount', 8 => 'read', 9 => 'edit', 10 => 'createtalk', 11 => 'writeapi', 12 => 'viewmywatchlist', 13 => 'editmywatchlist', 14 => 'viewmyprivateinfo', 15 => 'editmyprivateinfo', 16 => 'editmyoptions', 17 => 'abusefilter-log-detail', 18 => 'urlshortener-create-url', 19 => 'centralauth-merge', 20 => 'abusefilter-view', 21 => 'abusefilter-log', 22 => 'vipsscaler-test', 23 => 'collectionsaveasuserpage', 24 => 'reupload-own', 25 => 'move-rootuserpages', 26 => 'createpage', 27 => 'minoredit', 28 => 'editmyusercss', 29 => 'editmyuserjson', 30 => 'editmyuserjs', 31 => 'purge', 32 => 'sendemail', 33 => 'applychangetags', 34 => 'spamblacklistlog', 35 => 'mwoauthmanagemygrants', 36 => 'reupload', 37 => 'upload', 38 => 'move', 39 => 'skipcaptcha', 40 => 'ipinfo', 41 => 'ipinfo-view-basic', 42 => 'transcode-reset', 43 => 'transcode-status', 44 => 'createpagemainns', 45 => 'movestable' ]</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-user_app mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Whether the user is editing from mobile app (<code>user_app</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">false</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-user_mobile mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Whether or not a user is editing through the mobile interface (<code>user_mobile</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">false</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-page_id mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Page ID (<code>page_id</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">165201</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-page_namespace mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Page namespace (<code>page_namespace</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">0</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-page_title mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Page title without namespace (<code>page_title</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'Nuclear Regulatory Commission'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-page_prefixedtitle mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Full page title (<code>page_prefixedtitle</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'Nuclear Regulatory Commission'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-page_restrictions_edit mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Edit protection level of the page (<code>page_restrictions_edit</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">[]</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-page_age mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Page age in seconds (<code>page_age</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">611813708</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-action mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Action (<code>action</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'edit'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-summary mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Edit summary/reason (<code>summary</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'/* Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 */ added bq, named ref, content to section'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-old_content_model mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Old content model (<code>old_content_model</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'wikitext'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-new_content_model mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">New content model (<code>new_content_model</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'wikitext'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-old_wikitext mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Old page wikitext, before the edit (<code>old_wikitext</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'{{Short description|Government agency of the United States}} {{Infobox government agency |agency_name = Nuclear Regulatory Commission |nativename = |nativename_a = |nativename_r = |logo = US-NuclearRegulatoryCommission-Logo.svg |logo_width = 200px |logo_caption = |seal = Seal of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.png |seal_width = 140px |seal_caption = |image = Nuclear Regulatory Commission North Bethesda MD 2021-11-26 11-04-51 1.jpg |formed = {{start date and age|1975|1|19}} |preceding1 = [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] |headquarters = [[North Bethesda, Maryland]] |employees = 3,186 (2018)<ref name="Nuclear Regulatory Commission">https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1822/ML18226A117.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> |budget = $937 million (2018) <ref name="Nuclear Regulatory Commission"/> |chief1_name = [[Christopher T. Hanson]] |chief1_position = Chairman |website = {{url|http://www.nrc.gov}} |footnotes = }} The '''Nuclear Regulatory Commission''' ('''NRC''') is an [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent agency of the United States government]] tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the [[Energy Reorganization Act of 1974]], the NRC began operations on January 19, 1975, as one of two successor agencies to the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]]. Its functions include overseeing [[Nuclear reactor safety system|reactor safety]] and security, administering reactor licensing and renewal, licensing [[radioactive materials]], [[radionuclide]] safety, and managing the storage, security, recycling, and disposal of [[spent fuel]]. ==History== [[File:NRC Briefing on Human Capital and EEO (51245895192).jpg|thumb|The commission meets in 2021]] Prior to 1975 the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] was in charge of matters regarding radionuclides. The AEC was dissolved, because it was perceived as unduly favoring the industry it was charged with regulating.<ref name=atom19>John Byrne and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers, p. 163.</ref> The NRC was formed as an independent commission to oversee [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear energy]] matters, oversight of [[nuclear medicine]], and [[nuclear safety and security]]. The U.S. AEC became the [[Energy Research and Development Administration]] (ERDA) in 1975, responsible for development and oversight of [[nuclear weapon]]s. Research and promotion of civil uses of radioactive materials, such as for nuclear [[non-destructive testing]], nuclear medicine, and [[nuclear power]], was split into the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science & Technology within ERDA by the same act. In 1977, ERDA became the [[United States Department of Energy]] (DOE). In 2000, the [[National Nuclear Security Administration]] was created as a subcomponent of DOE, responsible for nuclear weapons.<ref name=wellc/> Twelve years into NRC operations, a 1987 Congressional report entitled "NRC Coziness with Industry"<ref name=congress>{{cite web|title=NRC' COZINESS- WITH" INDUSTRY" Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fails to Maintain Arms Length Relationship with the Nuclear Industry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaDs5KO2hncC|work=An Investigative Report 100th" Congress First Session|access-date=21 May 2014|author=U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Subcommittee on General, Oversight and Investigations|date=1987}}</ref> concluded, that the NRC "has not maintained an arms length regulatory posture with the commercial nuclear power industry ... [and] has, in some critical areas, abdicated its role as a regulator altogether".<ref name=atom19/> To cite three examples: <blockquote> A 1986 Congressional report found that NRC staff had provided valuable technical assistance to the utility seeking an operating license for the controversial [[Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant|Seabrook plant]]. In the late 1980s, the NRC 'created a policy' of non-enforcement by asserting its discretion not to enforce license conditions; between September 1989 and 1994, the 'NRC has either waived or chosen not to enforce regulations at nuclear power reactors over 340 times'. Finally, critics charge that the NRC has ceded important aspects of regulatory authority to the industry's own Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), an organization formed by utilities in response to the Three Mile Island Accident.<ref name=atom19/> </blockquote> The origins and development of NRC regulatory processes and policies are explained in five volumes of history published by the [[University of California Press]]. These are:<ref name=wellc/> * ''Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation 1946–1962'' (1984). * ''Containing the Atom: Nuclear Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963–1971'' (1992). * ''Permissible Dose: A History of Radiation Protection in the Twentieth Century'' (2000) * ''[[Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective]]'' (2004) * ''The Road to Yucca Mountain: The Development of Radioactive Waste Policy in the United States'' (2009). The NRC has produced a booklet, ''A Short History of Nuclear Regulation 1946–2009'', which outlines key issues in NRC history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/brochures/br0175/|title=NRC: A Short History of Nuclear Regulation, 1946–2009 (NUREG/BR-0175, Revision 2)|website=www.nrc.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-03-04}}</ref> [[Thomas Wellock]], a former academic, is the NRC historian. Before joining the NRC, Wellock wrote ''[[Critical Masses: Opposition to Nuclear Power in California, 1958–1978]]''.<ref name=wellc>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/history.html#nrctoday |title=NRC history |author=NRC |year=2013 |work= NRC website}}</ref> ==Mission and commissioners== The NRC's mission is to regulate the nation's civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment. The NRC's regulatory mission covers three main areas{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}: * ''Reactors'' – Commercial reactors for generating electric power and research and test reactors used for research, testing, and training * ''Materials'' – Uses of nuclear materials in medical, industrial, and academic settings and facilities that produce nuclear fuel * ''Waste'' – Transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear materials and waste, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities from service. The NRC is headed by five commissioners appointed by the [[President of the United States]] and confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] for five-year terms. One of them is designated by the president to be the chairman and official spokesperson of the commission. The current chairman is [[Christopher T. Hanson]]. [[President Biden]] designated Hanson as chairman of the NRC effective January 20, 2021.<ref name=nei-20210128/> ===List of chairmen<ref name="NRC-FormerChairmen">{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html|title=Former NRC Chairman|publisher=Nuclear Regulatory Commission|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !rowspan="1"|No. !rowspan="1"|Name (chair) !rowspan="1"|Photo !colspan="2"|Term of office !rowspan="1"|Appointed by |- |1 |[[Bill Anders]] |[[File:William Anders.jpg|70px]] |January 19, 1975 |April 20, 1976 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[Gerald Ford]] |- |2 |[[Marcus A. Rowden]] |[[File:Marcus_Rowden.jpg|70px]] |January 19, 1975 |January 15, 1977 |- |3 |[[Joseph M. Hendrie]] |[[File:Joseph_Hendrie.jpg|70px]] |March 3, 1977 |December 7, 1979 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[Jimmy Carter]] |- |4 |[[John F. Ahearne]] |[[File:John_Ahearne.jpg|70px]] |December 7, 1979 |March 2, 1981 |- |5 |[[Nunzio J. Palladino]] |[[File:Nunzio_Palladino.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1981 |June 30, 1986 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[Ronald Reagan]] |- |6 |[[Lando W. Zech Jr.]] |[[File:Lando_Zech_Jr.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1986 |June 3, 1989 |- |7 |[[Kenneth Monroe Carr]] |[[File:Kenneth Monroe Carr.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1989 |June 30, 1991 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[George H.W Bush]] |- |8 |[[Ivan Selin]] |[[File:Ivan_Selin.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1991 |June 30, 1995 |- |9 |[[Shirley Ann Jackson]] |[[File:Shirley Ann Jackson World Economic Forum 2010.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1995 |June 30, 1999 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[Bill Clinton]] |- |10 |[[Richard Meserve]] |[[File:Richard Meserve.jpg|70px]] |October 29, 1999 |March 31, 2003 |- |11 |[[Nils J. Diaz]] |[[File:Nils J. Diaz, former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.gif|70px]] |April 1, 2003 |June 30, 2006 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[George W. Bush]] |- |12 |[[Dale E. Klein]] |[[File:Dale Klein.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 2006 |May 13, 2009 |- |13 |[[Gregory Jaczko]] |[[File:Gregory B. Jaczko.jpg|70px]] |May 13, 2009 |July 9, 2012 !style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="3"|[[Barack Obama]] |- |14 |[[Allison Macfarlane]] |[[File:Chairman Allison M. Macfarlane.jpg|70px]] |July 9, 2012 |December 31, 2014 |- |15 |[[Stephen G. Burns]]<ref name="burns">{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/burns.html|title=Stephen G. Burns|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref> |[[File:Chairman Stephen G. Burns.jpg|70px]] |January 1, 2015 |January 23, 2017 |- |16 |[[Kristine Svinicki]]<ref name="svnicki">{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/svinicki.html |title=Chairman Kristine L. Svinicki |access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref> |[[File:Kristine Svinicki.jpg|70px]] |January 23, 2017 |January 20, 2021 !style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="1"|[[Donald Trump]] |- |17 |[[Christopher T. Hanson]]<ref name=nei-20210128>{{cite news |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsbiden-appoints-new-head-of-nrc-8476871 |title=Biden appoints new head of NRC |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=28 January 2021 |access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref> |[[File:Commissioner Christopher T. Hanson.jpg|88x88px]] |January 20, 2021 |Incumbent !style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="1"|[[Joe Biden]] |- |} ===List of commissioners<ref name="NRC-FormerComm">{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html|title=Former NRC Commissioners|publisher=Nuclear Regulatory Commission|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>=== *[[Marcus A. Rowden]] January 19, 1975 – April 20, 1977 *[[Edward A. Mason]] January 19, 1975 – January 15, 1977 *[[Victor Gilinsky]] January 19, 1975 – June 30, 1984 *[[Richard T. Kennedy]] January 19, 1975 – June 30, 1980 *[[Joseph M. Hendrie]] August 9, 1977 – June 30, 1981 *[[Peter A. Bradford]] August 15, 1977 – March 12, 1982 *[[John F. Ahearne]] July 31, 1978 – June 30, 1983 *[[Nunzio J. Palladiono]] July 1, 1981 – June 30, 1986 *[[Thomas M. Roberts]] August 3, 1981 – June 30, 1990 *[[James K. Asselstine]] May 17, 1982 – June 30, 1987 *[[Frederick M. Bernthal]] August 4, 1983 – June 30, 1988 *[[Lando W. Zech Jr.]] July 3, 1984 – June 30, 1989 *[[Kenneth Monroe Carr]] August 14, 1986 – June 30, 1991 *[[Kenneth C. Rogers]] August 7, 1987 – June 30, 1997 *[[James R. Curtiss]] October 20, 1988 – June 30, 1993 *[[Forrest J. Remick]] December 1, 1989 – June 30, 1994 *[[Ivan Selin]] July 1, 1991 – June 30, 1995 *[[E. Gail de Planque]] December 16, 1991 – June 30, 1995 *[[Shirley Ann Jackson]] May 2, 1995 – June 30, 1999 *[[Greta J. Dicus]] February 15, 1996 – June 30, 2003 *[[Nils J. Diaz]] August 23, 1996 – June 30, 2006 *[[Edward McGaffigan Jr.]] August 28, 1996 – September 2, 2007 *[[Jeffrey S. Merrifield]] October 23, 1998 – June 30, 2007 *[[Richard A. Meserve]] October 29, 1999 – March 31, 2003 *[[Gregory Jaczko]] January 21, 2005 – July 9, 2012 *[[Peter B. Lyons]] January 25, 2005 – June 30, 2009 *[[Dale E. Klein]] July 1, 2006 – March 29, 2010 *[[Kristine Svinicki]] March 28, 2008 – January 20, 2021 *[[George Apostolakis]] March 29, 2010 – June 30, 2014 *[[William D. Magwood IV]] March 29, 2010 – August 31, 2014 *[[William C. Ostendorff]] March 29, 2010 – June 30, 2016 *[[Allison Macfarlane]] July 9, 2012 – December 31, 2014 *[[Jeff Baran]] October 14, 2014 – Present *[[Stephen G. Burns]] November 4, 2014 – April 30, 2019 *[[Annie Caputo]] May 29, 2018 – June 30, 2021 *[[David A. Wright]] May 30, 2018 – Present *[[Christopher T. Hanson]] June 30, 2020 – Present ==Organization== [[File:NRC Organizational Chart (32234530897).jpg|thumb|NRC Organizational Chart in February 2019]] The NRC consists of the commission on the one hand and offices of the executive director for Operations on the other.<ref name=org>{{cite web|title=Organization & Functions|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization.html|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|date=27 November 2013}}</ref> The commission is divided into two committees (Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards and Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes) and one Board, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, as well as eight commission staff offices (Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication, Office of Congressional Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, Office of International Programs, Office of Public Affairs, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Executive Director for Operations). [[Christopher T. Hanson]] is the chairman of the NRC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commfuncdesc.html|title=NRC: The Commission|website=www.nrc.gov|access-date=February 24, 2021}}</ref> There are 14 Executive Director for Operations offices: Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, [[Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation]], Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Office of Enforcement, which investigates reports by [[nuclear power whistleblowers]], specifically the Allegations Program,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/allegations-resp.html |title= Allegations |date=28 June 2013|publisher=NRC}}</ref> Office of Investigations, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, Region I, Region II, Region III, Region IV, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of Administration, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, and Office of Small Business and Civil Rights. Of these operations offices, NRC's major program components are the first two offices mentioned above. NRC's proposed FY 2015 budget is $1,059.5&nbsp;million, with 3,895.9 full-time equivalents (FTE), 90 percent of which is recovered by fees. This is an increase of $3.6&nbsp;million, including 65.1 FTE, compared to FY 2014.<ref name=budget>{{cite web|title=Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2015 (NUREG-1100, Volume 30)|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/v30/|work=NUREG-1100, Volume 30|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|date=March 2014}}</ref> NRC headquarters offices are located in unincorporated [[North Bethesda, Maryland]] (although the mailing address for two of the three main buildings in the complex list the city as [[Rockville, MD]]), and there are four regional offices. ===Regions=== {{main|Regions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} [[File:Figure 2- Map of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regions and 37 Agreement States (14450812744) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the NRC regions]] The NRC territory is broken down into four geographical regions; until the late 1990s, there was a Region V office in [[Walnut Creek, California]] which was absorbed into Region IV, and Region V was dissolved. * [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I|Region I]], located in [[King of Prussia, Pennsylvania]], oversees the [[northeastern United States|northeastern states]]. * [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II|Region II]], located in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], oversees most of the [[southeastern United States|southeastern states]]. * [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III|Region III]], located in [[Lisle, Illinois]], oversees the [[midwestern United States|Midwest]]. * [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV|Region IV]], located in [[Arlington, Texas]], oversees the [[western United States|western]] and [[South Central United States|south central states]]. In these four regions NRC oversees the operation of [[List of nuclear reactors#United States|US nuclear reactors]], namely 94 power-producing reactors,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/power.html|title=Power Reactors}}</ref> and 31 non-power-producing, or research and test reactors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/map-nonpower-reactors.html|title = Map of Research and Test Reactor Sites}}</ref> Oversight is done on several levels. For example: * Each power-producing reactor site has resident inspectors, who monitor day-to-day operations. * Numerous special inspection teams, with many different specialties, routinely conduct inspections at each site. ==Recordkeeping system== NRC has a library, which also contains online document collections.<ref>{{cite web|title=NRC Document Collections|url=https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> In 1999 it started an electronic repository called ADAMS, the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.<ref>{{cite web|title=FAQ About the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System|url=https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/faq.html#1|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> for its public inspection reports, correspondence, and other technical documents written by NRC staff, contractors, and licensees. It has been upgraded in October 2010 and is now webbased. Of documents from 1980 to 1999 only some have abstracts and/or full text, most are citations. Documents from before 1980 are available in paper or microfiche formats. Copies of these older documents or classified documents can be applied for with a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|FOIA]] request. ==Training and accreditation== [[Image:Agency headquarters Graphic.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Commission headquarters]] NRC conducts audits and training inspections, observes the National Nuclear Accrediting Board meetings, and nominates some members. The 1980 Kemeny Commission's report<ref name=KC>{{cite web|title=Kemeny Commission findings: Oversight|work=Committee Report|publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|access-date=21 May 2014|author=US Congress. House Committee on Science and Technology. Subcommittee on Energy Research and Production, US President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island|pages=40–129|date=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0jRAAAAMAAJ&q=Kemeny+Commission+Findings}}</ref> after the [[Three Mile Island accident]] recommended that the nuclear energy industry "set and police its own standards of excellence".<ref name=BAS>{{cite journal|last=Lanouette|first=William|title=The Kemeny Commission Report|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|volume=36|issue=1|date=January 1980|pages=20–24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAoAAAAAMBAJ&q=Kemeny+Commission&pg=PA47|access-date=21 May 2014|bibcode=1980BuAtS..36a..20L|doi=10.1080/00963402.1980.11458680}}</ref> The nuclear industry founded the [[Institute of Nuclear Power Operations]] (INPO) within 9 months to establish personnel training and qualification. The industry through INPO created the 'National Academy for Nuclear Training Program' either as early as 1980<ref>{{cite web|title=National Academy for Nuclear Training Program|url=http://www.nei.org/Careers-Education/Education-Resources/Resources-for-Teachers-and-Students/Scholarships-Internships-and-Fellowships/Industry-Scholarships-and-Fellowships-in-Nuclear-E/National-Academy-for-Nuclear-Training-Program|work=websute|publisher=Nuclear Energy Institute nei.org|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NEI|year=2014}}</ref> or in September 1985 per the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]].<ref name=IAEA>{{cite journal|last=Pate|first=Zack T.|title=INPO's impact in the USA|journal=International Atomic Energy Agency Bulletin|date=Autumn 1986|pages=60–62|publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency}}</ref> INPO refers to NANT as "our National Academy for Nuclear Training" on its website.<ref name=inpo>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc.html|title=About us|work=website|publisher=Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)|author=Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)|year=2012}}</ref> NANT integrates and standardizes the training programs of INPO and US nuclear energy companies, offers training scholarships and interacts with the 'National Nuclear Accrediting Board'. This Board is closely related to the National Academy for Nuclear Training, not a government body, and referred to as independent by INPO,<ref name=inpo /> the Nuclear Energy Institute, and nuclear utilities.<ref>{{cite web|title=PG&E Senior Vice President Appointed to National Nuclear Accrediting Board|url=http://www.pge.com/myhome/edusafety/systemworks/dcpp/newsmedia/pressrelease/archive/pge_senior_vice_president_appointed_to_national_nuclear_accrediting_board.shtml|work=website|publisher=Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation|access-date=21 May 2014|date=11 February 2013|quote=The independent National Nuclear Accrediting Board evaluates operator and technical training programs for nuclear plants throughout the industry, ensuring that accredited training programs meet the highest standards for excellence and incorporate best practices.}}</ref> but not by the NRC, all of whom are represented on the board. The 1982 [[Nuclear Waste Policy Act]] directed NRC in Section 306 to issue regulations or "other appropriate regulatory guidance" on training of nuclear plant personnel. Since the nuclear industry already had developed training and accreditation, NRC issued a policy statement in 1985, endorsing the INPO program. NRC has a memorandum of agreement with INPO and "monitors INPO activities by observing accreditation team visits and the monthly NNAB meetings".<ref>{{cite web|title=The United States of America National Report for the Convention on Nuclear Safety|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1650/initial/|work=NUREG-1650|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|pages=11–15|date=September 2001|quote=In accordance with its memorandum of agreement with the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), the NRC monitors INPO accreditation activities as part of its assessment of the effectiveness of the industry's training programs. (The NRC also monitors the selected performance areas of its licensees as part of its assessment.) The NRC monitors INPO activities by observing accreditation team visits and the monthly National Nuclear Accrediting Board meetings.}}</ref> In 1993, NRC endorsed the industry's approach to training that had been used for nearly a decade through its 'Training Rule'.<ref name=nrc>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/related-documents.html|author= NRc|work=website|title= Related Documents and Other Resources}}</ref> In February 1994, NRC passed the 'Operator Requalification Rule' 59 FR 5938, Feb. 9, 1994,<ref>{{cite web|title=Renewal of Licenses and Requalification Requirements for Licensed Operators|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1994-02-09/html/94-2927.htm|work=Federal Register Volume 59, Number 27|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=February 9, 1994}}</ref> allowing each nuclear power plant company -rather than the agency- to conduct the operator licensing renewal examination every six years, eliminating the requirement of NRC-administered written requalification examination. In 1999, NRC issued a final rule on operator initial licensing examination,<ref>{{cite web|title=Initial Licensed Operator Examination Requirements|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/op-licensing-files/v64n78p19868.txt|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=23 April 1999|work=Federal Register Volume 64, Number 78}}</ref> that allows, but does not require, companies to "prepare, proctor, and grade" their own operator initial licensing examinations. Facilities can "upon written request" continue to have the examinations prepared and administered by NRC staff, but if a company volunteers to prepare the examination, NRC continues to approve and administer it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Subpart E—Written Examinations and Operating Tests|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part055/part055-0040.html|work=NRC Regulations (10 CFR) PART 55—Operators licenses, § 55.40 Implementation.|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=23 April 1999}}</ref> Since 2000 meetings between NRC and applicants or licensees have been open to the public.<ref>{{cite web|title=Staff Meetings Open to the Public: Final Policy Statement|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2000-09-20/html/00-24161.htm|work=Federal Register Volume 65 Number 183|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=20 September 2000}}</ref> ==Terrorism concerns and threats== [[Image:NRC building.JPG|thumb|right|NRC headquarters outside [[Rockville, Maryland]]]] Terrorist attacks such as those executed by [[al-Qaeda]] on [[New York City]] and [[Washington, D.C.]], on [[September 11 attacks|September&nbsp;11, 2001]], and in [[London]] on [[7 July 2005 London bombings|July&nbsp;7, 2005]], have prompted fears that extremist groups might use radioactive [[dirty bomb]]s in further attacks in the United States and elsewhere.<ref name=wash>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402291_pf.html|title= After A Nuclear 9/11|newspaper=Washington Post|date=25 March 2008|author=Jay Davis}}</ref><ref name=kittrie>[http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf Averting Catastrophe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607150719/http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf |date=2010-06-07 }} p. 338.</ref><ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE0D7143EF933A25750C0A9629C8B63|title= A Nuclear 9/11|date=10 March 2004|author=Nicholas Kristof|newspaper=NY Times}}</ref> In March 2007, undercover investigators from the [[Government Accountability Office]] set up a false company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a dirty bomb. According to the GAO report, NRC officials did not visit the company or attempt to personally interview its executives. Instead, within 28 days, the NRC mailed the license to the West Virginia postal box. Upon receipt of the license, GAO officials were able to easily modify its stipulations and remove a limit on the amount of radioactive material they could buy. A spokesman for the NRC said that the agency considered the radioactive devices a "lower-level threat"; a bomb built with the materials could have contaminated an area about the length of a city block but would not have presented an immediate health hazard.<ref name=nyt2>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/us/12nuke.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin|title= A Nuclear Ruse Uncovers Holes in U.S. Security|date=12 July 2012|newspaper= NY Times}}</ref> ==Prospective nuclear units== {{Main|Nuclear renaissance in the United States}} Between 2007 and 2009, 13 companies applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for construction and operating licenses to build 25 new [[nuclear power]] reactors in the [[United States]]. However, the case for widespread nuclear plant construction was eroded due to abundant natural gas supplies, slow electricity demand growth in a weak U.S. economy, lack of financing, and uncertainty following the [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]].<ref name=us12/> Many license applications for proposed new reactors were suspended or cancelled.<ref name=eo>Eileen O'Grady. [http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64N5S420100524 Entergy says nuclear remains costly] ''Reuters'', May 25, 2010.</ref><ref>Terry Ganey. [http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/apr/23/amerenue-pulls-plug-callaway-2/ AmerenUE pulls plug on project] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713074254/http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/apr/23/amerenue-pulls-plug-callaway-2/ |date=2012-07-13 }} ''Columbia Daily Tribune'', April 23, 2009.</ref> Only a few new reactors will enter service by 2020.<ref name=us12>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}</ref> These will not be the cheapest energy options available, but they are an attractive investment for utilities because the government mandates that taxpayers pay for construction in advance.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/business/energy-environment/nuclear-powers-future-may-hinge-on-georgia-project.html?ref=matthewlwald |title=Atomic Power's Green Light or Red Flag |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 11, 2013 |work=New York Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/experts-even-higher-costs-and-more-headaches-ahead-for-nuclear-power-in-2012-2011-12-28 |title=Experts: Even higher costs and more headaches for nuclear power in 2012 |date=28 December 2011 |work=MarketWatch }}</ref> In 2013, four aging reactors were permanently closed: San Onofre 2 and 3 in California, Crystal River 3 in Florida, and Kewaunee in Wisconsin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebulletin.org/nuclear-aging-not-so-graceful |title= Nuclear aging: Not so graceful |author=Mark Cooper |date=18 June 2013 |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists }}</ref><ref name=mw11111>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/business/energy-environment/aging-nuclear-plants-are-closing-but-for-economic-reasons.html?ref=matthewlwald |title=Nuclear Plants, Old and Uncompetitive, Are Closing Earlier Than Expected |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 14, 2013 |work=New York Times }}</ref> [[Vermont Yankee]], in Vernon, was shut down on December 29, 2014, following many protests. New York State is seeking to close [[Indian Point Energy Center]], in Buchanan, 30 miles from New York City.<ref name=mw11111/> In 2019 the NRC approved a second 20-year licence extension for [[Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station|Turkey Point]] units 3 and 4, the first time NRC had extended licences to 80 years total lifetime. Similar extensions for about 20 reactors are planned or intended, with more expected in the future. This will reduce demand for replacement new builds.<ref name=wnn-20191206>{{cite news |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Turkey-Point-licensed-for-80-years-of-operation |title=Turkey Point licensed for 80 years of operation |publisher=World Nuclear News |date=6 December 2019 |access-date=9 December 2019}}</ref> == Controversy, concerns, and criticisms before 2011== Byrne and Hoffman wrote in 1996, that since the 1980s the NRC has generally favored the interests of nuclear industry, and been unduly responsive to industry concerns, while failing to pursue tough regulation. The NRC has often sought to hamper or deny public access to the regulatory process, and created new barriers to public participation.<ref>John Byrne and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers, p. 160.</ref> [[Barack Obama]], when running for [[President of the United States of America|president]] in 2007, said that the five-member NRC had become "captive of the industries that it regulates".<ref name="salon-elliot"/> Numerous different observers have criticized the NRC as an example of [[regulatory capture]]<ref name="salon-elliot">{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/news/japan_earthquake/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/17/jeff_merrifield_nuclear_energy_institute|author=Justin Elliott|title=Ex-regulator flacking for pro-nuke lobby|work= Salon.com|date=17 March 2011|access-date=18 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0401_nuclear_meltdown_kaufmann.aspx |title=Preventing Nuclear Meltdown: Assessing Regulatory Failure in Japan and the United States |author=Daniel Kaufmann |date=April 1, 2011 |work=Brookings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406062959/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0401_nuclear_meltdown_kaufmann.aspx |archive-date=April 6, 2011 }}</ref> The NRC has been accused of having conflicting roles as regulator and "salesman" in a 2011 Reuters article,<ref name=reuters>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-industry-nrc-idUSTRE73H0PL20110418 |title=Exclusive: U.S. nuclear regulator a policeman or salesman? |author1=Ben Berkowitz |author2=Roberta Rampton |name-list-style=amp |date=April 18, 2011 |work=Reuters }}</ref> doing an inadequate job by the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/03/28/28greenwire-japanese-nuclear-reactors-us-safety-to-take-ce-30444.html |title=Japanese Nuclear Reactors, U.S. Safety to Take Center Stage on Capitol Hill This Week|author=Hannah Northey |date=28 March 2011|work=New York Times }}</ref> and the agency approval process has been called a "rubber stamp".<ref name="motherjones">{{cite web|author=Kate Sheppard|url=http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/japan-nuclear-regulatory-commission|title=Is the Government's Nuclear Regulator Up to the Job?|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=17 March 2011|access-date=18 March 2011}}</ref> [[Frank N. von Hippel]] wrote in March 2011, that despite the 1979 [[Three Mile Island accident]] in Pennsylvania, the NRC has often been too timid in ensuring that America's commercial reactors are operated safely: <blockquote> Nuclear power regulation is a textbook example of the problem of "regulatory capture" — in which an industry gains control of an agency meant to regulate it. Regulatory capture can be countered only by vigorous public scrutiny and Congressional oversight, but in the 32 years since Three Mile Island, interest in nuclear regulation has declined precipitously.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/opinion/24Von-Hippel.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=frank%20von%20hippel&st=cse |title=It Could Happen Here |author=Frank Von Hippel |date=23 March 2011|work=New York Times }}</ref> </blockquote> An article in the [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] stated that many forms of NRC regulatory failure exist, including regulations ignored by the common consent of NRC and industry: <blockquote> A worker (named [[George Galatis]]) at the [[Millstone Nuclear Power Plant]] in Connecticut kept warning management, that the spent fuel rods were being put too quickly into the spent storage pool and that the number of rods in the pool exceeded specifications. Management ignored him, so he went directly to the NRC, which eventually admitted that it knew of both of the forbidden practices, which happened at many plants, but chose to ignore them. The whistleblower was fired and blacklisted.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/6/44.full |title=Fukushima and the inevitability of accidents |author=Charles Perrow |date=November–December 2011 |volume=67 |issue=6 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |pages= 44–52 |bibcode=2011BuAtS..67f..44P |doi=10.1177/0096340211426395 |s2cid=144904813 }}</ref> </blockquote> In Vermont, the day before the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]] that [[Fukushima I nuclear accidents|damaged Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant]], the NRC approved a 20-year extension for the license of [[Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant]], although the [[Vermont state legislature]] voted overwhelmingly to deny an extension.<ref name="motherjones" /> The plant had been found to be leaking [[Radionuclide|radioactive materials]] through a network of underground pipes, which [[Entergy]] had denied under oath even existed. At a hearing in 2009 Tony Klein, chairman of the [[Vermont House of Representatives|Vermont House]] Natural Resources and Energy Committee had asked the NRC about the pipes and the NRC also did not know they existed.<ref name="motherjones" /> In March 2011, the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]] released a study critical of the NRC's 2010 performance as a regulator. The UCS said that over the years, it had found the NRC's enforcement of safety rules has not been "timely, consistent, or effective" and it cited 14 "near-misses" at U.S. plants in 2010 alone.<ref name="wapo-yang">{{cite news|author=Jia Lynn Yang| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/democrats-step-up-pressure-on-nuclear-regulators-over-disaster-preparedness/2011/03/17/ABLd66n_story.html|title=Democrats step up pressure on nuclear regulators over disaster preparedness|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 18, 2011|access-date= 19 March 2011}}</ref> In April 2011, Reuters reported that diplomatic cables showed NRC sometimes being used as a sales tool to help push American technology to foreign governments, when "lobbying for the purchase of equipment made by [[Westinghouse Electric Company]] and other domestic manufacturers". This gives the appearance of a regulator which is acting in a commercial capacity, "raising concerns about a potential [[conflict of interest]]".<ref name=reuters /> San Clemente Green, an environmental group opposed to the continued operation of the [[San Onofre Nuclear Plant]], said in 2011 that instead of being a watchdog, the NRC too often rules in favor of nuclear plant operators.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/28/anti-nuclear-protest-planned-at-nrc-meeting/ |title=Anti-nuclear protest planned at NRC meeting |author=Onell R. Soto |date=April 28, 2011 |work=SignOnSanDiego }}</ref>{{third-party-inline|date=August 2014}} === Nuclear Reactor License Renewal Program === Critics have long charged that NRC has intentionally misled the public by dismissing critical nuclear safety and environmental issues. One example involves the license renewal program that NRC initiated to extend the operating licenses for the nation's fleet of aging commercial nuclear reactors. [[Environmental impact statement]]s (EIS) were prepared for each reactor to extend the operational period from 40 to 60 years. One study examined the EISs and found significant flaws, included failure to consider significant issues of concern.<ref name="The EIS Book 2014">{{Cite book|title=The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements|chapter=1|year=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1466583634}}</ref> It also found that the NRC management had significantly underestimated the risk and consequences posed by a severe reactor accident such as a full-scale nuclear meltdown. NRC management asserted, without scientific evidence, that the risk of such accidents were so "Small" that the impacts could be dismissed and therefore no analysis of human and environmental was even performed. Such a conclusion is scientifically indefensible given the experience of the [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island]], [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]], and [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima]] accidents. Another finding was that NRC had concealed the risk posed to the public at large by disregarding one of the most important EIS requirements, mandating that [[cumulative impacts]] be assessed (40 Code of Federal Regulations §1508.7). By disregarding this basic requirement, NRC effectively misrepresented the risk posed to the nation by approximately two orders of magnitude (i.e., the true risk is about 100 greater than NRC represented). These findings were collaborated in a final report prepared by a special Washington State Legislature Nuclear Power Task Force, titled, "Doesnt NRC Address Consequences of Severe Accidents in EISs for re-licensing?"<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/NEJSTF/Documents/14%2009%2025/Nuclear_Power.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220174111/http://leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/NEJSTF/Documents/14%2009%2025/Nuclear_Power.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="The EIS Book 2014"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements|chapter=5|year=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1466583634}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments: A Users Guide to Best Professional Practices|chapter=8|publisher=CRC Press|year=2012}}</ref> == Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 == [[Gregory Jaczko]] was chairman of the NRC when the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] occurred in Japan. Jaczko looked for lessons for the US, and strengthened security regulations for [[nuclear power plant]]s. For example, he supported the requirement that new plants to be able to withstand an aircraft crash.<ref name=nrc /> On February 9, 2012, Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4–1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing [[Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]] in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]], saying "I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}</ref> In July 2011, Mark Cooper said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is "on the defensive to prove it is doing its job of ensuring safety".<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/4/8.abstract |title=The implications of Fukushima: The US perspective |author=Mark Cooper |date=July 2011 |volume=67 |issue=4 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |page=9 |doi=10.1177/0096340211414840 |s2cid=146270304 }}</ref> In October 2011, Jaczko described "a tension between wanting to move in a timely manner on regulatory questions, and not wanting to go too fast".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-n-r-c-goes-social/ |title=The N.R.C. Goes Social |author=Matthew Wald |date=October 4, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref> In 2011 [[Edward J. Markey]], Democrat of Massachusetts, criticized the NRC's response to the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] and the decision-making on the proposed Westinghouse [[AP1000]] reactor design.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/u-s-regulator-says-fukushima-lessons-can-percolate/ |title=U.S. Regulator Says Fukushima Lessons Can Percolate |author=Matthew L. Wald |date=July 28, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/35103/page2/ |title=Fukushima's Spreading Impact |author=Peter Fairley |date=March 15, 2011 |work=Technology Review }}</ref> In 2011, a total of 45 groups and individuals from across the nation formally asked the NRC to suspend all licensing and other activities at 21 proposed nuclear reactor projects in 15 states until the NRC completed a thorough post-[[Fukushima nuclear disaster]] examination:<ref name=groups45>{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fukushima-fallout--45-groups-and-individuals-petition-nrc-to-suspend-all-nuclear-reactor-licensing-and-conduct-a-credible-three-mile-island-style-review-119844504.html|title=Fukushima Fallout: 45 Groups and Individuals Petition NRC to Suspend All Nuclear Reactor Licensing and Conduct a "Credible" Three Mile Island-Style Review |date=April 14, 2011 |work=PRNewswire}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/04/14/anti-nuclear-movement-gears |title=Anti nuclear movement gears up |author=Carly Nairn |date=14 April 2011|work=San Francisco Bay Guardian }}</ref> <blockquote> The petition seeks suspension of six existing reactor license renewal decisions ([[Columbia Generating Station]], WA [[Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station]], OH, [[Diablo Canyon Power Plant]], CA, [[Indian Point Energy Center]], NY, [[Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station]], MA, and [[Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant]], NH); 13 new reactor combined construction permit and operating license decisions ([[Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station]] Units 3 and 4, AL, Bell Bend, [[Callaway Nuclear Generating Station]], MO, [[Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Generating Station]], MD, [[Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant]], TX, [[Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station]], MI, [[Levy County Nuclear Power Plant]], FL [[North Anna Nuclear Generating Station]], VA, [[Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant]], NC, [[South Texas Nuclear Generating Station]], TX, [[Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station]], FL, [[Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]], GA, and [[William States Lee III Nuclear Generating Station]], SC);a construction permit decision (Bellefonte Units 1 and 2); and an operating license decision ([[Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station]], TN). In addition, the petition asks the NRC to halt proceedings to approve the standardized [[AP1000]] and [[Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor]] designs.<ref name=groups45/></blockquote> The petitioners asked the NRC to supplement its own investigation by establishing an independent commission comparable to that set up in the wake of the less severe 1979 [[Three Mile Island accident]]. The petitioners included [[Public Citizen]], [[Southern Alliance for Clean Energy]], and San Luis Obispo [[Anti-nuclear groups in the United States#Mothers for Peace|Mothers for Peace]].<ref name=groups45/> === Intentionally concealing reports concerning the risks of flooding === {{More citations needed|section|date=May 2021}} The flooding of [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima]] led to the meltdown of three reactor cores and release of radiation so high that 100,000 citizens were forced to evacuate. Following the Fukushima disaster, the NRC prepared a report in 2011 to examine the risk that dam failures posed on the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors. A redacted version of NRC's report on dam failures was posted on the NRC website on March 6. The original, un-redacted version was leaked to the public. The un-redacted version which was leaked to the public highlights the threat that flooding poses to nuclear power plants located near large dams and substantiates claims that NRC management has intentionally misled the public for years about the severity of the flooding. The leaked version of the report concluded that one-third of the U.S. nuclear fleet (34 plants) may face flooding hazards greater than they were designed to withstand. It also shows that NRC management was aware of some aspects of this risk for 15 years and yet it had done nothing to effectively address the problem. Some flooding events are so serious that they could result in a "severe" nuclear accident, up to, and including, a nuclear meltdown. This criticism is collaborated by two NRC whistleblowers who accused their management of deliberately covering up information concerning the vulnerability of flooding, and of failing to take corrective actions despite being aware of these risks for years. Richard Perkins, a second risk engineer with the NRC and the lead author of the leaked report, filed a complaint with the agency's Inspector General, asserting that NRC staff had improperly redacted information from the public version of his report "to prevent the disclosure of this safety information to the public because it will embarrass the agency." Perkins wrote. "Concurrently, the NRC concealed the information from the public."<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/nuclear-plant-flood-threat-leak_n_1983005.html|last=Zeller|first=Tom|work=Huffpost|title=Leaked Report Suggests Long-Known Flood Threat To Nuclear Plants, Safety Advocates Say|date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> Larry Criscione, a second NRC risk engineer also raised concerns about the NRC withholding information concerning the risk of flooding. He stated that assertions by NRC's management that plants are "currently able to mitigate flooding events," was false. David Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer and safety advocate with the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]]: "The redacted information shows that the NRC is lying to the American public about the safety of U.S. reactors," <ref name="ReferenceA"/> The [[Oconee Nuclear Station]] has been shown to be at particular risk from flooding. An NRC letter dated 2009 states that "a [[Jocassee Dam|Jocassee Dam failure]] is a credible event" It goes on to state that "NRC staff expressed concerns that Duke has not demonstrated that the [null Oconee Nuclear Station] units will be adequately protected."<ref>NRC's July 2011 report on dam failures say that the 2009 letter is not publicly available; this quote ere is taken from the unredacted version of the NRC's July 2011 report</ref> NRC's 2011 leaked report notes that "dam failure incidents are common". NRC estimated the odds that dams constructed like Jocassee will fail is about 1 in 3,600 failures per year. Oconee is licensed to operate for another 20 years. The odds of the Jocassee Dam failing over that period are 1 in 180. NRC requires risks to be investigated if they have a frequency of more than 1 in 10,000 years. For a reactor operating over a period of 40 years, these risks must be evaluated if they have a chance greater than a 1 in 250 of occurring. NRC identified 34 reactors that lie downstream from a total of more than 50 dams. More than half of these dams are roughly the size of the Jocassee dam. Assuming the NRC's failure rate applies to all of these dams, the chance that one will fail over the next 40 years is about one in four or 25 percent chance. This dam failure rate does not include risks posed by earthquakes or terrorism. Thus, the true probability may be much higher.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/nuclear_power/floods-from-dam-failure-10-19-12.pdf|title=Union of Concerned Scientists, Dam Failures and Flooding at U.S. Nuclear Plant|access-date=September 6, 2019}}</ref> This raised a second and potentially larger issue. NRC recently completed its license renewal program which extended the operating licenses of the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors for an additional 20 years. NRC stated that the probability of a severe accident is so incredible that the consequences can be dismissed from the analysis of impacts in its relicensing [[environmental impact statement]]s (EIS). Yet this conflicts with NRC's internal analyses which concluded that flooding presented a serious human and environmental risk. Critics charge that if these relicensing EISs failed to evaluate the risks of flooding, then how can the public be confident that NRC did not mislead stakeholders concerning other risks such as the potential for a nuclear meltdown. NRC officials stated in June 2011 that US nuclear safety rules do not adequately weigh the risk of a single event that would knock out electricity from the grid and from emergency generators, as a quake and tsunami did in Japan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/u-s-reactors-unprepared-for-total-power-loss-report-suggests/ |title=U.S. Reactors Unprepared for Total Power Loss, Report Suggests |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 15, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref> {{As of|2011|10|alt = In October 2011}}, and NRC instructed agency staff to move forward with seven of the 12 safety recommendations put forward by a federal task force in July 2011. The recommendations include "new standards aimed at strengthening operators' ability to deal with a complete loss of power, ensuring plants can withstand floods and earthquakes and improving emergency response capabilities". The new safety standards will take up to five years to fully implement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/188767-federal-regulators-agree-to-implement-tighter-nuclear-standards |title=Nuke regulators toughen safety rules |author=Andrew Restuccia |date=2011-10-20 |work=The Hill |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114112850/http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/188767-federal-regulators-agree-to-implement-tighter-nuclear-standards |archive-date=2012-01-14 }}</ref> {{As of|2011|11|alt = In November 2011}}, Jaczko warned power companies against complacency and said the agency must "push ahead with new rules prompted by the nuclear crisis in Japan, while also resolving long-running issues involving fire protection and a new analysis of earthquake risks".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827034738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=NRC chair warns nuclear industry against complacency, says it must resolve long-running issues |date=11 November 2011 |newspaper=Washington Post }}</ref> ==See also== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * [[International Nuclear Regulators' Association]] * [[List of canceled nuclear plants in the United States]] * [[Nuclear power in the United States]] * [[Nuclear renaissance in the United States]] * [[Nuclear safety in the United States]] * [[Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations]] * [[Atomic Safety and Licensing Board]] {{div col end}} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} * [https://www.nrc.gov/ Nuclear Regulatory Commission] (official website) * [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/nuclear-regulatory-commission Nuclear Regulatory Commission] in the [[Federal Register]] * [http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/ NRC public blog] * [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/list-power-reactor-units.html NRC list of power-producing nuclear reactors] * [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power.html NRC list of non-power-producing reactors] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071011083513/http://www.homestead.com/clonemaster/files/cancel.htm Canceled Nuclear Units Ordered in the US] * [https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo38828 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Policy and Governance Challenges: Joint Hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power and the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, February 28, 2013] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080917222325/http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/the-future-of-the-nuclear-regulatory-commission The future of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission] in the [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] * [http://www.technicalreports.org/ Technical Report Archive and Image Library (TRAIL)] from technicalreports.org {{Authority control}} [[Category:Nuclear Regulatory Commission| ]] [[Category:Governmental nuclear organizations]] [[Category:Independent agencies of the United States government]] [[Category:Nuclear energy in the United States]] [[Category:Nuclear regulatory organizations]] [[Category:Nuclear history of the United States]] [[Category:1974 establishments in the United States]] [[Category:Government agencies established in 1974]] [[Category:Rockville, Maryland]]'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-new_wikitext mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">New page wikitext, after the edit (<code>new_wikitext</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'{{Short description|Government agency of the United States}} {{Infobox government agency |agency_name = Nuclear Regulatory Commission |nativename = |nativename_a = |nativename_r = |logo = US-NuclearRegulatoryCommission-Logo.svg |logo_width = 200px |logo_caption = |seal = Seal of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.png |seal_width = 140px |seal_caption = |image = Nuclear Regulatory Commission North Bethesda MD 2021-11-26 11-04-51 1.jpg |formed = {{start date and age|1975|1|19}} |preceding1 = [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] |headquarters = [[North Bethesda, Maryland]] |employees = 3,186 (2018)<ref name="Nuclear Regulatory Commission">https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1822/ML18226A117.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref> |budget = $937 million (2018) <ref name="Nuclear Regulatory Commission"/> |chief1_name = [[Christopher T. Hanson]] |chief1_position = Chairman |website = {{url|http://www.nrc.gov}} |footnotes = }} The '''Nuclear Regulatory Commission''' ('''NRC''') is an [[Independent agencies of the United States government|independent agency of the United States government]] tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the [[Energy Reorganization Act of 1974]], the NRC began operations on January 19, 1975, as one of two successor agencies to the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]]. Its functions include overseeing [[Nuclear reactor safety system|reactor safety]] and security, administering reactor licensing and renewal, licensing [[radioactive materials]], [[radionuclide]] safety, and managing the storage, security, recycling, and disposal of [[spent fuel]]. ==History== [[File:NRC Briefing on Human Capital and EEO (51245895192).jpg|thumb|The commission meets in 2021]] Prior to 1975 the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] was in charge of matters regarding radionuclides. The AEC was dissolved, because it was perceived as unduly favoring the industry it was charged with regulating.<ref name=atom19>John Byrne and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers, p. 163.</ref> The NRC was formed as an independent commission to oversee [[Nuclear power in the United States|nuclear energy]] matters, oversight of [[nuclear medicine]], and [[nuclear safety and security]]. The U.S. AEC became the [[Energy Research and Development Administration]] (ERDA) in 1975, responsible for development and oversight of [[nuclear weapon]]s. Research and promotion of civil uses of radioactive materials, such as for nuclear [[non-destructive testing]], nuclear medicine, and [[nuclear power]], was split into the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science & Technology within ERDA by the same act. In 1977, ERDA became the [[United States Department of Energy]] (DOE). In 2000, the [[National Nuclear Security Administration]] was created as a subcomponent of DOE, responsible for nuclear weapons.<ref name=wellc/> Twelve years into NRC operations, a 1987 Congressional report entitled "NRC Coziness with Industry"<ref name=congress>{{cite web|title=NRC' COZINESS- WITH" INDUSTRY" Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fails to Maintain Arms Length Relationship with the Nuclear Industry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaDs5KO2hncC|work=An Investigative Report 100th" Congress First Session|access-date=21 May 2014|author=U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Subcommittee on General, Oversight and Investigations|date=1987}}</ref> concluded, that the NRC "has not maintained an arms length regulatory posture with the commercial nuclear power industry ... [and] has, in some critical areas, abdicated its role as a regulator altogether".<ref name=atom19/> To cite three examples: <blockquote> A 1986 Congressional report found that NRC staff had provided valuable technical assistance to the utility seeking an operating license for the controversial [[Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant|Seabrook plant]]. In the late 1980s, the NRC 'created a policy' of non-enforcement by asserting its discretion not to enforce license conditions; between September 1989 and 1994, the 'NRC has either waived or chosen not to enforce regulations at nuclear power reactors over 340 times'. Finally, critics charge that the NRC has ceded important aspects of regulatory authority to the industry's own Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), an organization formed by utilities in response to the Three Mile Island Accident.<ref name=atom19/> </blockquote> The origins and development of NRC regulatory processes and policies are explained in five volumes of history published by the [[University of California Press]]. These are:<ref name=wellc/> * ''Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation 1946–1962'' (1984). * ''Containing the Atom: Nuclear Regulation in a Changing Environment, 1963–1971'' (1992). * ''Permissible Dose: A History of Radiation Protection in the Twentieth Century'' (2000) * ''[[Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective]]'' (2004) * ''The Road to Yucca Mountain: The Development of Radioactive Waste Policy in the United States'' (2009). The NRC has produced a booklet, ''A Short History of Nuclear Regulation 1946–2009'', which outlines key issues in NRC history.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/brochures/br0175/|title=NRC: A Short History of Nuclear Regulation, 1946–2009 (NUREG/BR-0175, Revision 2)|website=www.nrc.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-03-04}}</ref> [[Thomas Wellock]], a former academic, is the NRC historian. Before joining the NRC, Wellock wrote ''[[Critical Masses: Opposition to Nuclear Power in California, 1958–1978]]''.<ref name=wellc>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/history.html#nrctoday |title=NRC history |author=NRC |year=2013 |work= NRC website}}</ref> ==Mission and commissioners== The NRC's mission is to regulate the nation's civilian use of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials to ensure adequate protection of public health and safety, to promote the common defense and security, and to protect the environment. The NRC's regulatory mission covers three main areas{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}: * ''Reactors'' – Commercial reactors for generating electric power and research and test reactors used for research, testing, and training * ''Materials'' – Uses of nuclear materials in medical, industrial, and academic settings and facilities that produce nuclear fuel * ''Waste'' – Transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear materials and waste, and decommissioning of nuclear facilities from service. The NRC is headed by five commissioners appointed by the [[President of the United States]] and confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] for five-year terms. One of them is designated by the president to be the chairman and official spokesperson of the commission. The current chairman is [[Christopher T. Hanson]]. [[President Biden]] designated Hanson as chairman of the NRC effective January 20, 2021.<ref name=nei-20210128/> ===List of chairmen<ref name="NRC-FormerChairmen">{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html|title=Former NRC Chairman|publisher=Nuclear Regulatory Commission|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !rowspan="1"|No. !rowspan="1"|Name (chair) !rowspan="1"|Photo !colspan="2"|Term of office !rowspan="1"|Appointed by |- |1 |[[Bill Anders]] |[[File:William Anders.jpg|70px]] |January 19, 1975 |April 20, 1976 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[Gerald Ford]] |- |2 |[[Marcus A. Rowden]] |[[File:Marcus_Rowden.jpg|70px]] |January 19, 1975 |January 15, 1977 |- |3 |[[Joseph M. Hendrie]] |[[File:Joseph_Hendrie.jpg|70px]] |March 3, 1977 |December 7, 1979 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[Jimmy Carter]] |- |4 |[[John F. Ahearne]] |[[File:John_Ahearne.jpg|70px]] |December 7, 1979 |March 2, 1981 |- |5 |[[Nunzio J. Palladino]] |[[File:Nunzio_Palladino.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1981 |June 30, 1986 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[Ronald Reagan]] |- |6 |[[Lando W. Zech Jr.]] |[[File:Lando_Zech_Jr.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1986 |June 3, 1989 |- |7 |[[Kenneth Monroe Carr]] |[[File:Kenneth Monroe Carr.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1989 |June 30, 1991 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[George H.W Bush]] |- |8 |[[Ivan Selin]] |[[File:Ivan_Selin.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1991 |June 30, 1995 |- |9 |[[Shirley Ann Jackson]] |[[File:Shirley Ann Jackson World Economic Forum 2010.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 1995 |June 30, 1999 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[Bill Clinton]] |- |10 |[[Richard Meserve]] |[[File:Richard Meserve.jpg|70px]] |October 29, 1999 |March 31, 2003 |- |11 |[[Nils J. Diaz]] |[[File:Nils J. Diaz, former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.gif|70px]] |April 1, 2003 |June 30, 2006 |!style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="2"|[[George W. Bush]] |- |12 |[[Dale E. Klein]] |[[File:Dale Klein.jpg|70px]] |July 1, 2006 |May 13, 2009 |- |13 |[[Gregory Jaczko]] |[[File:Gregory B. Jaczko.jpg|70px]] |May 13, 2009 |July 9, 2012 !style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="3"|[[Barack Obama]] |- |14 |[[Allison Macfarlane]] |[[File:Chairman Allison M. Macfarlane.jpg|70px]] |July 9, 2012 |December 31, 2014 |- |15 |[[Stephen G. Burns]]<ref name="burns">{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/burns.html|title=Stephen G. Burns|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref> |[[File:Chairman Stephen G. Burns.jpg|70px]] |January 1, 2015 |January 23, 2017 |- |16 |[[Kristine Svinicki]]<ref name="svnicki">{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/svinicki.html |title=Chairman Kristine L. Svinicki |access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref> |[[File:Kristine Svinicki.jpg|70px]] |January 23, 2017 |January 20, 2021 !style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="1"|[[Donald Trump]] |- |17 |[[Christopher T. Hanson]]<ref name=nei-20210128>{{cite news |url=https://www.neimagazine.com/news/newsbiden-appoints-new-head-of-nrc-8476871 |title=Biden appoints new head of NRC |publisher=Nuclear Engineering International |date=28 January 2021 |access-date=1 February 2021}}</ref> |[[File:Commissioner Christopher T. Hanson.jpg|88x88px]] |January 20, 2021 |Incumbent !style="font-weight:normal" rowspan="1"|[[Joe Biden]] |- |} ===List of commissioners<ref name="NRC-FormerComm">{{cite web | url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commission/former-commissioners/former-commissioners.html|title=Former NRC Commissioners|publisher=Nuclear Regulatory Commission|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref>=== *[[Marcus A. Rowden]] January 19, 1975 – April 20, 1977 *[[Edward A. Mason]] January 19, 1975 – January 15, 1977 *[[Victor Gilinsky]] January 19, 1975 – June 30, 1984 *[[Richard T. Kennedy]] January 19, 1975 – June 30, 1980 *[[Joseph M. Hendrie]] August 9, 1977 – June 30, 1981 *[[Peter A. Bradford]] August 15, 1977 – March 12, 1982 *[[John F. Ahearne]] July 31, 1978 – June 30, 1983 *[[Nunzio J. Palladiono]] July 1, 1981 – June 30, 1986 *[[Thomas M. Roberts]] August 3, 1981 – June 30, 1990 *[[James K. Asselstine]] May 17, 1982 – June 30, 1987 *[[Frederick M. Bernthal]] August 4, 1983 – June 30, 1988 *[[Lando W. Zech Jr.]] July 3, 1984 – June 30, 1989 *[[Kenneth Monroe Carr]] August 14, 1986 – June 30, 1991 *[[Kenneth C. Rogers]] August 7, 1987 – June 30, 1997 *[[James R. Curtiss]] October 20, 1988 – June 30, 1993 *[[Forrest J. Remick]] December 1, 1989 – June 30, 1994 *[[Ivan Selin]] July 1, 1991 – June 30, 1995 *[[E. Gail de Planque]] December 16, 1991 – June 30, 1995 *[[Shirley Ann Jackson]] May 2, 1995 – June 30, 1999 *[[Greta J. Dicus]] February 15, 1996 – June 30, 2003 *[[Nils J. Diaz]] August 23, 1996 – June 30, 2006 *[[Edward McGaffigan Jr.]] August 28, 1996 – September 2, 2007 *[[Jeffrey S. Merrifield]] October 23, 1998 – June 30, 2007 *[[Richard A. Meserve]] October 29, 1999 – March 31, 2003 *[[Gregory Jaczko]] January 21, 2005 – July 9, 2012 *[[Peter B. Lyons]] January 25, 2005 – June 30, 2009 *[[Dale E. Klein]] July 1, 2006 – March 29, 2010 *[[Kristine Svinicki]] March 28, 2008 – January 20, 2021 *[[George Apostolakis]] March 29, 2010 – June 30, 2014 *[[William D. Magwood IV]] March 29, 2010 – August 31, 2014 *[[William C. Ostendorff]] March 29, 2010 – June 30, 2016 *[[Allison Macfarlane]] July 9, 2012 – December 31, 2014 *[[Jeff Baran]] October 14, 2014 – Present *[[Stephen G. Burns]] November 4, 2014 – April 30, 2019 *[[Annie Caputo]] May 29, 2018 – June 30, 2021 *[[David A. Wright]] May 30, 2018 – Present *[[Christopher T. Hanson]] June 30, 2020 – Present ==Organization== [[File:NRC Organizational Chart (32234530897).jpg|thumb|NRC Organizational Chart in February 2019]] The NRC consists of the commission on the one hand and offices of the executive director for Operations on the other.<ref name=org>{{cite web|title=Organization & Functions|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization.html|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|date=27 November 2013}}</ref> The commission is divided into two committees (Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards and Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes) and one Board, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel, as well as eight commission staff offices (Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication, Office of Congressional Affairs, Office of the General Counsel, Office of International Programs, Office of Public Affairs, Office of the Secretary, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Executive Director for Operations). [[Christopher T. Hanson]] is the chairman of the NRC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/organization/commfuncdesc.html|title=NRC: The Commission|website=www.nrc.gov|access-date=February 24, 2021}}</ref> There are 14 Executive Director for Operations offices: Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, [[Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation]], Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Office of Enforcement, which investigates reports by [[nuclear power whistleblowers]], specifically the Allegations Program,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/allegations-resp.html |title= Allegations |date=28 June 2013|publisher=NRC}}</ref> Office of Investigations, Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, Region I, Region II, Region III, Region IV, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Office of Administration, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, and Office of Small Business and Civil Rights. Of these operations offices, NRC's major program components are the first two offices mentioned above. NRC's proposed FY 2015 budget is $1,059.5&nbsp;million, with 3,895.9 full-time equivalents (FTE), 90 percent of which is recovered by fees. This is an increase of $3.6&nbsp;million, including 65.1 FTE, compared to FY 2014.<ref name=budget>{{cite web|title=Congressional Budget Justification: Fiscal Year 2015 (NUREG-1100, Volume 30)|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1100/v30/|work=NUREG-1100, Volume 30|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|date=March 2014}}</ref> NRC headquarters offices are located in unincorporated [[North Bethesda, Maryland]] (although the mailing address for two of the three main buildings in the complex list the city as [[Rockville, MD]]), and there are four regional offices. ===Regions=== {{main|Regions of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} [[File:Figure 2- Map of Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regions and 37 Agreement States (14450812744) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map of the NRC regions]] The NRC territory is broken down into four geographical regions; until the late 1990s, there was a Region V office in [[Walnut Creek, California]] which was absorbed into Region IV, and Region V was dissolved. * [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I|Region I]], located in [[King of Prussia, Pennsylvania]], oversees the [[northeastern United States|northeastern states]]. * [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region II|Region II]], located in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], oversees most of the [[southeastern United States|southeastern states]]. * [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region III|Region III]], located in [[Lisle, Illinois]], oversees the [[midwestern United States|Midwest]]. * [[:Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region IV|Region IV]], located in [[Arlington, Texas]], oversees the [[western United States|western]] and [[South Central United States|south central states]]. In these four regions NRC oversees the operation of [[List of nuclear reactors#United States|US nuclear reactors]], namely 94 power-producing reactors,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/power.html|title=Power Reactors}}</ref> and 31 non-power-producing, or research and test reactors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/map-nonpower-reactors.html|title = Map of Research and Test Reactor Sites}}</ref> Oversight is done on several levels. For example: * Each power-producing reactor site has resident inspectors, who monitor day-to-day operations. * Numerous special inspection teams, with many different specialties, routinely conduct inspections at each site. ==Recordkeeping system== NRC has a library, which also contains online document collections.<ref>{{cite web|title=NRC Document Collections|url=https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> In 1999 it started an electronic repository called ADAMS, the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System.<ref>{{cite web|title=FAQ About the Agencywide Documents Access and Management System|url=https://forms.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/faq.html#1|work=website|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014}}</ref> for its public inspection reports, correspondence, and other technical documents written by NRC staff, contractors, and licensees. It has been upgraded in October 2010 and is now webbased. Of documents from 1980 to 1999 only some have abstracts and/or full text, most are citations. Documents from before 1980 are available in paper or microfiche formats. Copies of these older documents or classified documents can be applied for with a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|FOIA]] request. ==Training and accreditation== [[Image:Agency headquarters Graphic.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Commission headquarters]] NRC conducts audits and training inspections, observes the National Nuclear Accrediting Board meetings, and nominates some members. The 1980 Kemeny Commission's report<ref name=KC>{{cite web|title=Kemeny Commission findings: Oversight|work=Committee Report|publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off.|access-date=21 May 2014|author=US Congress. House Committee on Science and Technology. Subcommittee on Energy Research and Production, US President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island|pages=40–129|date=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d0jRAAAAMAAJ&q=Kemeny+Commission+Findings}}</ref> after the [[Three Mile Island accident]] recommended that the nuclear energy industry "set and police its own standards of excellence".<ref name=BAS>{{cite journal|last=Lanouette|first=William|title=The Kemeny Commission Report|journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|volume=36|issue=1|date=January 1980|pages=20–24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAoAAAAAMBAJ&q=Kemeny+Commission&pg=PA47|access-date=21 May 2014|bibcode=1980BuAtS..36a..20L|doi=10.1080/00963402.1980.11458680}}</ref> The nuclear industry founded the [[Institute of Nuclear Power Operations]] (INPO) within 9 months to establish personnel training and qualification. The industry through INPO created the 'National Academy for Nuclear Training Program' either as early as 1980<ref>{{cite web|title=National Academy for Nuclear Training Program|url=http://www.nei.org/Careers-Education/Education-Resources/Resources-for-Teachers-and-Students/Scholarships-Internships-and-Fellowships/Industry-Scholarships-and-Fellowships-in-Nuclear-E/National-Academy-for-Nuclear-Training-Program|work=websute|publisher=Nuclear Energy Institute nei.org|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NEI|year=2014}}</ref> or in September 1985 per the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]].<ref name=IAEA>{{cite journal|last=Pate|first=Zack T.|title=INPO's impact in the USA|journal=International Atomic Energy Agency Bulletin|date=Autumn 1986|pages=60–62|publisher=International Atomic Energy Agency}}</ref> INPO refers to NANT as "our National Academy for Nuclear Training" on its website.<ref name=inpo>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc.html|title=About us|work=website|publisher=Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)|author=Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO)|year=2012}}</ref> NANT integrates and standardizes the training programs of INPO and US nuclear energy companies, offers training scholarships and interacts with the 'National Nuclear Accrediting Board'. This Board is closely related to the National Academy for Nuclear Training, not a government body, and referred to as independent by INPO,<ref name=inpo /> the Nuclear Energy Institute, and nuclear utilities.<ref>{{cite web|title=PG&E Senior Vice President Appointed to National Nuclear Accrediting Board|url=http://www.pge.com/myhome/edusafety/systemworks/dcpp/newsmedia/pressrelease/archive/pge_senior_vice_president_appointed_to_national_nuclear_accrediting_board.shtml|work=website|publisher=Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation|access-date=21 May 2014|date=11 February 2013|quote=The independent National Nuclear Accrediting Board evaluates operator and technical training programs for nuclear plants throughout the industry, ensuring that accredited training programs meet the highest standards for excellence and incorporate best practices.}}</ref> but not by the NRC, all of whom are represented on the board. The 1982 [[Nuclear Waste Policy Act]] directed NRC in Section 306 to issue regulations or "other appropriate regulatory guidance" on training of nuclear plant personnel. Since the nuclear industry already had developed training and accreditation, NRC issued a policy statement in 1985, endorsing the INPO program. NRC has a memorandum of agreement with INPO and "monitors INPO activities by observing accreditation team visits and the monthly NNAB meetings".<ref>{{cite web|title=The United States of America National Report for the Convention on Nuclear Safety|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1650/initial/|work=NUREG-1650|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|pages=11–15|date=September 2001|quote=In accordance with its memorandum of agreement with the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), the NRC monitors INPO accreditation activities as part of its assessment of the effectiveness of the industry's training programs. (The NRC also monitors the selected performance areas of its licensees as part of its assessment.) The NRC monitors INPO activities by observing accreditation team visits and the monthly National Nuclear Accrediting Board meetings.}}</ref> In 1993, NRC endorsed the industry's approach to training that had been used for nearly a decade through its 'Training Rule'.<ref name=nrc>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/related-documents.html|author= NRc|work=website|title= Related Documents and Other Resources}}</ref> In February 1994, NRC passed the 'Operator Requalification Rule' 59 FR 5938, Feb. 9, 1994,<ref>{{cite web|title=Renewal of Licenses and Requalification Requirements for Licensed Operators|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1994-02-09/html/94-2927.htm|work=Federal Register Volume 59, Number 27|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=February 9, 1994}}</ref> allowing each nuclear power plant company -rather than the agency- to conduct the operator licensing renewal examination every six years, eliminating the requirement of NRC-administered written requalification examination. In 1999, NRC issued a final rule on operator initial licensing examination,<ref>{{cite web|title=Initial Licensed Operator Examination Requirements|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operator-licensing/op-licensing-files/v64n78p19868.txt|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=23 April 1999|work=Federal Register Volume 64, Number 78}}</ref> that allows, but does not require, companies to "prepare, proctor, and grade" their own operator initial licensing examinations. Facilities can "upon written request" continue to have the examinations prepared and administered by NRC staff, but if a company volunteers to prepare the examination, NRC continues to approve and administer it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Subpart E—Written Examinations and Operating Tests|url=https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part055/part055-0040.html|work=NRC Regulations (10 CFR) PART 55—Operators licenses, § 55.40 Implementation.|publisher=NRC|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=23 April 1999}}</ref> Since 2000 meetings between NRC and applicants or licensees have been open to the public.<ref>{{cite web|title=Staff Meetings Open to the Public: Final Policy Statement|url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2000-09-20/html/00-24161.htm|work=Federal Register Volume 65 Number 183|publisher=Government Printing Office|access-date=21 May 2014|author=NRC|date=20 September 2000}}</ref> ==Terrorism concerns and threats== [[Image:NRC building.JPG|thumb|right|NRC headquarters outside [[Rockville, Maryland]]]] Terrorist attacks such as those executed by [[al-Qaeda]] on [[New York City]] and [[Washington, D.C.]], on [[September 11 attacks|September&nbsp;11, 2001]], and in [[London]] on [[7 July 2005 London bombings|July&nbsp;7, 2005]], have prompted fears that extremist groups might use radioactive [[dirty bomb]]s in further attacks in the United States and elsewhere.<ref name=wash>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402291_pf.html|title= After A Nuclear 9/11|newspaper=Washington Post|date=25 March 2008|author=Jay Davis}}</ref><ref name=kittrie>[http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf Averting Catastrophe] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607150719/http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf |date=2010-06-07 }} p. 338.</ref><ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE0D7143EF933A25750C0A9629C8B63|title= A Nuclear 9/11|date=10 March 2004|author=Nicholas Kristof|newspaper=NY Times}}</ref> In March 2007, undercover investigators from the [[Government Accountability Office]] set up a false company and obtained a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would have allowed them to buy the radioactive materials needed for a dirty bomb. According to the GAO report, NRC officials did not visit the company or attempt to personally interview its executives. Instead, within 28 days, the NRC mailed the license to the West Virginia postal box. Upon receipt of the license, GAO officials were able to easily modify its stipulations and remove a limit on the amount of radioactive material they could buy. A spokesman for the NRC said that the agency considered the radioactive devices a "lower-level threat"; a bomb built with the materials could have contaminated an area about the length of a city block but would not have presented an immediate health hazard.<ref name=nyt2>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/us/12nuke.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin|title= A Nuclear Ruse Uncovers Holes in U.S. Security|date=12 July 2012|newspaper= NY Times}}</ref> ==Prospective nuclear units== {{Main|Nuclear renaissance in the United States}} Between 2007 and 2009, 13 companies applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for construction and operating licenses to build 25 new [[nuclear power]] reactors in the [[United States]]. However, the case for widespread nuclear plant construction was eroded due to abundant natural gas supplies, slow electricity demand growth in a weak U.S. economy, lack of financing, and uncertainty following the [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]].<ref name=us12/> Many license applications for proposed new reactors were suspended or cancelled.<ref name=eo>Eileen O'Grady. [http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64N5S420100524 Entergy says nuclear remains costly] ''Reuters'', May 25, 2010.</ref><ref>Terry Ganey. [http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/apr/23/amerenue-pulls-plug-callaway-2/ AmerenUE pulls plug on project] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713074254/http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/apr/23/amerenue-pulls-plug-callaway-2/ |date=2012-07-13 }} ''Columbia Daily Tribune'', April 23, 2009.</ref> Only a few new reactors will enter service by 2020.<ref name=us12>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}</ref> These will not be the cheapest energy options available, but they are an attractive investment for utilities because the government mandates that taxpayers pay for construction in advance.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/business/energy-environment/nuclear-powers-future-may-hinge-on-georgia-project.html?ref=matthewlwald |title=Atomic Power's Green Light or Red Flag |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 11, 2013 |work=New York Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/experts-even-higher-costs-and-more-headaches-ahead-for-nuclear-power-in-2012-2011-12-28 |title=Experts: Even higher costs and more headaches for nuclear power in 2012 |date=28 December 2011 |work=MarketWatch }}</ref> In 2013, four aging reactors were permanently closed: San Onofre 2 and 3 in California, Crystal River 3 in Florida, and Kewaunee in Wisconsin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebulletin.org/nuclear-aging-not-so-graceful |title= Nuclear aging: Not so graceful |author=Mark Cooper |date=18 June 2013 |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists }}</ref><ref name=mw11111>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/business/energy-environment/aging-nuclear-plants-are-closing-but-for-economic-reasons.html?ref=matthewlwald |title=Nuclear Plants, Old and Uncompetitive, Are Closing Earlier Than Expected |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 14, 2013 |work=New York Times }}</ref> [[Vermont Yankee]], in Vernon, was shut down on December 29, 2014, following many protests. New York State is seeking to close [[Indian Point Energy Center]], in Buchanan, 30 miles from New York City.<ref name=mw11111/> In 2019 the NRC approved a second 20-year licence extension for [[Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station|Turkey Point]] units 3 and 4, the first time NRC had extended licences to 80 years total lifetime. Similar extensions for about 20 reactors are planned or intended, with more expected in the future. This will reduce demand for replacement new builds.<ref name=wnn-20191206>{{cite news |url=http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Turkey-Point-licensed-for-80-years-of-operation |title=Turkey Point licensed for 80 years of operation |publisher=World Nuclear News |date=6 December 2019 |access-date=9 December 2019}}</ref> == Controversy, concerns, and criticisms before 2011== Byrne and Hoffman wrote in 1996, that since the 1980s the NRC has generally favored the interests of nuclear industry, and been unduly responsive to industry concerns, while failing to pursue tough regulation. The NRC has often sought to hamper or deny public access to the regulatory process, and created new barriers to public participation.<ref>John Byrne and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers, p. 160.</ref> [[Barack Obama]], when running for [[President of the United States of America|president]] in 2007, said that the five-member NRC had become "captive of the industries that it regulates".<ref name="salon-elliot"/> Numerous different observers have criticized the NRC as an example of [[regulatory capture]]<ref name="salon-elliot">{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/news/japan_earthquake/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/03/17/jeff_merrifield_nuclear_energy_institute|author=Justin Elliott|title=Ex-regulator flacking for pro-nuke lobby|work= Salon.com|date=17 March 2011|access-date=18 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0401_nuclear_meltdown_kaufmann.aspx |title=Preventing Nuclear Meltdown: Assessing Regulatory Failure in Japan and the United States |author=Daniel Kaufmann |date=April 1, 2011 |work=Brookings |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406062959/http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2011/0401_nuclear_meltdown_kaufmann.aspx |archive-date=April 6, 2011 }}</ref> The NRC has been accused of having conflicting roles as regulator and "salesman" in a 2011 Reuters article,<ref name=reuters>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-industry-nrc-idUSTRE73H0PL20110418 |title=Exclusive: U.S. nuclear regulator a policeman or salesman? |author1=Ben Berkowitz |author2=Roberta Rampton |name-list-style=amp |date=April 18, 2011 |work=Reuters }}</ref> doing an inadequate job by the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/03/28/28greenwire-japanese-nuclear-reactors-us-safety-to-take-ce-30444.html |title=Japanese Nuclear Reactors, U.S. Safety to Take Center Stage on Capitol Hill This Week|author=Hannah Northey |date=28 March 2011|work=New York Times }}</ref> and the agency approval process has been called a "rubber stamp".<ref name="motherjones">{{cite web|author=Kate Sheppard|url=http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/03/japan-nuclear-regulatory-commission|title=Is the Government's Nuclear Regulator Up to the Job?|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=17 March 2011|access-date=18 March 2011}}</ref> [[Frank N. von Hippel]] wrote in March 2011, that despite the 1979 [[Three Mile Island accident]] in Pennsylvania, the NRC has often been too timid in ensuring that America's commercial reactors are operated safely: <blockquote> Nuclear power regulation is a textbook example of the problem of "regulatory capture" — in which an industry gains control of an agency meant to regulate it. Regulatory capture can be countered only by vigorous public scrutiny and Congressional oversight, but in the 32 years since Three Mile Island, interest in nuclear regulation has declined precipitously.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/opinion/24Von-Hippel.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=frank%20von%20hippel&st=cse |title=It Could Happen Here |author=Frank Von Hippel |date=23 March 2011|work=New York Times }}</ref> </blockquote> An article in the [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] stated that many forms of NRC regulatory failure exist, including regulations ignored by the common consent of NRC and industry: <blockquote> A worker (named [[George Galatis]]) at the [[Millstone Nuclear Power Plant]] in Connecticut kept warning management, that the spent fuel rods were being put too quickly into the spent storage pool and that the number of rods in the pool exceeded specifications. Management ignored him, so he went directly to the NRC, which eventually admitted that it knew of both of the forbidden practices, which happened at many plants, but chose to ignore them. The whistleblower was fired and blacklisted.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/6/44.full |title=Fukushima and the inevitability of accidents |author=Charles Perrow |date=November–December 2011 |volume=67 |issue=6 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |pages= 44–52 |bibcode=2011BuAtS..67f..44P |doi=10.1177/0096340211426395 |s2cid=144904813 }}</ref> </blockquote> In Vermont, the day before the [[2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami]] that [[Fukushima I nuclear accidents|damaged Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant]], the NRC approved a 20-year extension for the license of [[Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant]], although the [[Vermont state legislature]] voted overwhelmingly to deny an extension.<ref name="motherjones" /> The plant had been found to be leaking [[Radionuclide|radioactive materials]] through a network of underground pipes, which [[Entergy]] had denied under oath even existed. At a hearing in 2009 Tony Klein, chairman of the [[Vermont House of Representatives|Vermont House]] Natural Resources and Energy Committee had asked the NRC about the pipes and the NRC also did not know they existed.<ref name="motherjones" /> In March 2011, the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]] released a study critical of the NRC's 2010 performance as a regulator. The UCS said that over the years, it had found the NRC's enforcement of safety rules has not been "timely, consistent, or effective" and it cited 14 "near-misses" at U.S. plants in 2010 alone.<ref name="wapo-yang">{{cite news|author=Jia Lynn Yang| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/democrats-step-up-pressure-on-nuclear-regulators-over-disaster-preparedness/2011/03/17/ABLd66n_story.html|title=Democrats step up pressure on nuclear regulators over disaster preparedness|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 18, 2011|access-date= 19 March 2011}}</ref> In April 2011, Reuters reported that diplomatic cables showed NRC sometimes being used as a sales tool to help push American technology to foreign governments, when "lobbying for the purchase of equipment made by [[Westinghouse Electric Company]] and other domestic manufacturers". This gives the appearance of a regulator which is acting in a commercial capacity, "raising concerns about a potential [[conflict of interest]]".<ref name=reuters /> San Clemente Green, an environmental group opposed to the continued operation of the [[San Onofre Nuclear Plant]], said in 2011 that instead of being a watchdog, the NRC too often rules in favor of nuclear plant operators.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/apr/28/anti-nuclear-protest-planned-at-nrc-meeting/ |title=Anti-nuclear protest planned at NRC meeting |author=Onell R. Soto |date=April 28, 2011 |work=SignOnSanDiego }}</ref>{{third-party-inline|date=August 2014}} === Nuclear Reactor License Renewal Program === Critics have long charged that NRC has intentionally misled the public by dismissing critical nuclear safety and environmental issues. One example involves the license renewal program that NRC initiated to extend the operating licenses for the nation's fleet of aging commercial nuclear reactors. [[Environmental impact statement]]s (EIS) were prepared for each reactor to extend the operational period from 40 to 60 years. One study examined the EISs and found significant flaws, included failure to consider significant issues of concern.<ref name="The EIS Book 2014">{{Cite book|title=The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements|chapter=1|year=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1466583634}}</ref> It also found that the NRC management had significantly underestimated the risk and consequences posed by a severe reactor accident such as a full-scale nuclear meltdown. NRC management asserted, without scientific evidence, that the risk of such accidents were so "Small" that the impacts could be dismissed and therefore no analysis of human and environmental was even performed. Such a conclusion is scientifically indefensible given the experience of the [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island]], [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]], and [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima]] accidents. Another finding was that NRC had concealed the risk posed to the public at large by disregarding one of the most important EIS requirements, mandating that [[cumulative impacts]] be assessed (40 Code of Federal Regulations §1508.7). By disregarding this basic requirement, NRC effectively misrepresented the risk posed to the nation by approximately two orders of magnitude (i.e., the true risk is about 100 greater than NRC represented). These findings were collaborated in a final report prepared by a special Washington State Legislature Nuclear Power Task Force, titled, "Doesnt NRC Address Consequences of Severe Accidents in EISs for re-licensing?"<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/NEJSTF/Documents/14%2009%2025/Nuclear_Power.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220174111/http://leg.wa.gov/JointCommittees/NEJSTF/Documents/14%2009%2025/Nuclear_Power.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="The EIS Book 2014"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=The EIS Book: Managing and Preparing Environmental Impact Statements|chapter=5|year=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1466583634}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Preparing NEPA Environmental Assessments: A Users Guide to Best Professional Practices|chapter=8|publisher=CRC Press|year=2012}}</ref> == Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 == [[Gregory Jaczko]] was chairman of the NRC when the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] occurred in Japan. Jaczko looked for lessons for the US, and strengthened security regulations for [[nuclear power plant]]s. For example, he supported the requirement that new plants to be able to withstand an aircraft crash.<ref name=nrc /> On February 9, 2012, Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4–1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing [[Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]] in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]], saying "I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}</ref> In July 2011, Mark Cooper said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is "on the defensive to prove it is doing its job of ensuring safety".<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/4/8.abstract |title=The implications of Fukushima: The US perspective |author=Mark Cooper |date=July 2011 |volume=67 |issue=4 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |page=9 |doi=10.1177/0096340211414840 |s2cid=146270304 }}</ref> In October 2011, Jaczko described "a tension between wanting to move in a timely manner on regulatory questions, and not wanting to go too fast".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-n-r-c-goes-social/ |title=The N.R.C. Goes Social |author=Matthew Wald |date=October 4, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref> In 2011 [[Edward J. Markey]], Democrat of Massachusetts, criticized the NRC's response to the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] and the decision-making on the proposed Westinghouse [[AP1000]] reactor design.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/u-s-regulator-says-fukushima-lessons-can-percolate/ |title=U.S. Regulator Says Fukushima Lessons Can Percolate |author=Matthew L. Wald |date=July 28, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/35103/page2/ |title=Fukushima's Spreading Impact |author=Peter Fairley |date=March 15, 2011 |work=Technology Review }}</ref> In 2011, a total of 45 groups and individuals from across the nation formally asked the NRC to suspend all licensing and other activities at 21 proposed nuclear reactor projects in 15 states until the NRC completed a thorough post-[[Fukushima nuclear disaster]] examination:<ref name=groups45>{{cite web |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fukushima-fallout--45-groups-and-individuals-petition-nrc-to-suspend-all-nuclear-reactor-licensing-and-conduct-a-credible-three-mile-island-style-review-119844504.html|title=Fukushima Fallout: 45 Groups and Individuals Petition NRC to Suspend All Nuclear Reactor Licensing and Conduct a "Credible" Three Mile Island-Style Review |date=April 14, 2011 |work=PRNewswire}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfbg.com/politics/2011/04/14/anti-nuclear-movement-gears |title=Anti nuclear movement gears up |author=Carly Nairn |date=14 April 2011|work=San Francisco Bay Guardian }}</ref> <blockquote> The petition seeks suspension of six existing reactor license renewal decisions ([[Columbia Generating Station]], WA [[Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station]], OH, [[Diablo Canyon Power Plant]], CA, [[Indian Point Energy Center]], NY, [[Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station]], MA, and [[Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant]], NH); 13 new reactor combined construction permit and operating license decisions ([[Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station]] Units 3 and 4, AL, Bell Bend, [[Callaway Nuclear Generating Station]], MO, [[Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Generating Station]], MD, [[Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant]], TX, [[Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station]], MI, [[Levy County Nuclear Power Plant]], FL [[North Anna Nuclear Generating Station]], VA, [[Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant]], NC, [[South Texas Nuclear Generating Station]], TX, [[Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station]], FL, [[Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]], GA, and [[William States Lee III Nuclear Generating Station]], SC);a construction permit decision (Bellefonte Units 1 and 2); and an operating license decision ([[Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station]], TN). In addition, the petition asks the NRC to halt proceedings to approve the standardized [[AP1000]] and [[Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor]] designs.<ref name=groups45/></blockquote> The petitioners asked the NRC to supplement its own investigation by establishing an independent commission comparable to that set up in the wake of the less severe 1979 [[Three Mile Island accident]]. The petitioners included [[Public Citizen]], [[Southern Alliance for Clean Energy]], and San Luis Obispo [[Anti-nuclear groups in the United States#Mothers for Peace|Mothers for Peace]].<ref name=groups45/> === Intentionally concealing reports concerning the risks of flooding === {{More citations needed|section|date=May 2021}} The flooding of [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima]] led to the meltdown of three reactor cores and release of radiation so high that 100,000 citizens were forced to evacuate. Following the Fukushima disaster, the NRC prepared a report in 2011 to examine the risk that dam failures posed on the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors. A redacted version of NRC's report on dam failures was posted on the NRC website on March 6. The original, un-redacted version was leaked to the public. The un-redacted version which was leaked to the public highlights the threat that flooding poses to nuclear power plants located near large dams and substantiates claims that NRC management has intentionally misled the public for years about the severity of the flooding. The leaked version of the report concluded that one-third of the U.S. nuclear fleet (34 plants) may face flooding hazards greater than they were designed to withstand. It also shows that NRC management was aware of some aspects of this risk for 15 years and yet it had done nothing to effectively address the problem. Some flooding events are so serious that they could result in a "severe" nuclear accident, up to, and including, a nuclear meltdown. This criticism is collaborated by two NRC whistleblowers who accused their management of deliberately covering up information concerning the vulnerability of flooding, and of failing to take corrective actions despite being aware of these risks for years. Richard Perkins, a second risk engineer with the NRC and the lead author of the leaked report, filed a complaint with the agency's Inspector General, asserting that NRC staff had improperly redacted information from the public version of his report "to prevent the disclosure of this safety information to the public because it will embarrass the agency." Perkins wrote. "Concurrently, the NRC concealed the information from the public."<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/nuclear-plant-flood-threat-leak_n_1983005.html|last=Zeller|first=Tom|work=Huffpost|title=Leaked Report Suggests Long-Known Flood Threat To Nuclear Plants, Safety Advocates Say|date=October 19, 2012}}</ref> Larry Criscione, a second NRC risk engineer also raised concerns about the NRC withholding information concerning the risk of flooding. He stated that assertions by NRC's management that plants are "currently able to mitigate flooding events," was false. David Lochbaum, a nuclear engineer and safety advocate with the [[Union of Concerned Scientists]]: "The redacted information shows that the NRC is lying to the American public about the safety of U.S. reactors," <ref name="ReferenceA"/> The [[Oconee Nuclear Station]] has been shown to be at particular risk from flooding. An NRC letter dated 2009 states that "a [[Jocassee Dam|Jocassee Dam failure]] is a credible event" It goes on to state that "NRC staff expressed concerns that Duke has not demonstrated that the [null Oconee Nuclear Station] units will be adequately protected."<ref>NRC's July 2011 report on dam failures say that the 2009 letter is not publicly available; this quote ere is taken from the unredacted version of the NRC's July 2011 report</ref> NRC's 2011 leaked report notes that "dam failure incidents are common". NRC estimated the odds that dams constructed like Jocassee will fail is about 1 in 3,600 failures per year. Oconee is licensed to operate for another 20 years. The odds of the Jocassee Dam failing over that period are 1 in 180. NRC requires risks to be investigated if they have a frequency of more than 1 in 10,000 years. For a reactor operating over a period of 40 years, these risks must be evaluated if they have a chance greater than a 1 in 250 of occurring. NRC identified 34 reactors that lie downstream from a total of more than 50 dams. More than half of these dams are roughly the size of the Jocassee dam. Assuming the NRC's failure rate applies to all of these dams, the chance that one will fail over the next 40 years is about one in four or 25 percent chance. This dam failure rate does not include risks posed by earthquakes or terrorism. Thus, the true probability may be much higher.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/nuclear_power/floods-from-dam-failure-10-19-12.pdf|title=Union of Concerned Scientists, Dam Failures and Flooding at U.S. Nuclear Plant|access-date=September 6, 2019}}</ref> This raised a second and potentially larger issue. NRC recently completed its license renewal program which extended the operating licenses of the nation's fleet of nuclear reactors for an additional 20 years. NRC stated that the probability of a severe accident is so incredible that the consequences can be dismissed from the analysis of impacts in its relicensing [[environmental impact statement]]s (EIS). Yet this conflicts with NRC's internal analyses which concluded that flooding presented a serious human and environmental risk. Critics charge that if these relicensing EISs failed to evaluate the risks of flooding, then how can the public be confident that NRC did not mislead stakeholders concerning other risks such as the potential for a nuclear meltdown. NRC officials stated in June 2011 that US nuclear safety rules do not adequately weigh the risk of a single event that would knock out electricity from the grid and from emergency generators, as a quake and tsunami did in Japan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/u-s-reactors-unprepared-for-total-power-loss-report-suggests/ |title=U.S. Reactors Unprepared for Total Power Loss, Report Suggests |author=Matthew Wald |date=June 15, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref> {{As of|2011|10|alt = In October 2011}}, and NRC instructed agency staff to move forward with seven of the 12 safety recommendations put forward by a federal task force in July 2011. The recommendations include "new standards aimed at strengthening operators' ability to deal with a complete loss of power, ensuring plants can withstand floods and earthquakes and improving emergency response capabilities". The new safety standards will take up to five years to fully implement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/188767-federal-regulators-agree-to-implement-tighter-nuclear-standards |title=Nuke regulators toughen safety rules |author=Andrew Restuccia |date=2011-10-20 |work=The Hill |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114112850/http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/188767-federal-regulators-agree-to-implement-tighter-nuclear-standards |archive-date=2012-01-14 }}</ref> {{As of|2011|11|alt = In November 2011}}, Jaczko warned power companies against complacency and said the agency must "push ahead with new rules prompted by the nuclear crisis in Japan, while also resolving long-running issues involving fire protection and a new analysis of earthquake risks".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827034738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=NRC chair warns nuclear industry against complacency, says it must resolve long-running issues |date=11 November 2011 |newspaper=Washington Post }}</ref> The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also been criticized for its reluctance to allow for innovation and experimentation, even controlled for and purportedly safe methods of deploying nuclear power that countries such as Poland are approving before the United States. As reported by [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] in May of 2022: {{blockquote|Oregon's NuScale Power signed an agreement with the Polish mining and processing firm KGHM to deploy NuScale's innovative small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Poland by 2029. At the U.N.'s Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November, NuScale contracted with a Romanian energy company to deploy its SMR technology in that country by 2028. NuScale has signed similar memoranda of understanding with electric power companies in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. This kind of advanced energy technology will likely be powering homes and businesses in Europe before the first reactor is completed in the United States. That's because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in no hurry to help.}}<ref name="America's Nuclear Reluctance – Reason">{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Ronald |title=America's Nuclear Reluctance |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=25 May 2022}}</ref> ==See also== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * [[International Nuclear Regulators' Association]] * [[List of canceled nuclear plants in the United States]] * [[Nuclear power in the United States]] * [[Nuclear renaissance in the United States]] * [[Nuclear safety in the United States]] * [[Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations]] * [[Atomic Safety and Licensing Board]] {{div col end}} ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Nuclear Regulatory Commission}} * [https://www.nrc.gov/ Nuclear Regulatory Commission] (official website) * [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/nuclear-regulatory-commission Nuclear Regulatory Commission] in the [[Federal Register]] * [http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/ NRC public blog] * [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/list-power-reactor-units.html NRC list of power-producing nuclear reactors] * [https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/non-power.html NRC list of non-power-producing reactors] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071011083513/http://www.homestead.com/clonemaster/files/cancel.htm Canceled Nuclear Units Ordered in the US] * [https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo38828 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Policy and Governance Challenges: Joint Hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power and the Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session, February 28, 2013] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080917222325/http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/the-future-of-the-nuclear-regulatory-commission The future of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission] in the [[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] * [http://www.technicalreports.org/ Technical Report Archive and Image Library (TRAIL)] from technicalreports.org {{Authority control}} [[Category:Nuclear Regulatory Commission| ]] [[Category:Governmental nuclear organizations]] [[Category:Independent agencies of the United States government]] [[Category:Nuclear energy in the United States]] [[Category:Nuclear regulatory organizations]] [[Category:Nuclear history of the United States]] [[Category:1974 establishments in the United States]] [[Category:Government agencies established in 1974]] [[Category:Rockville, Maryland]]'</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-edit_diff mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Unified diff of changes made by edit (<code>edit_diff</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">'@@ -306,4 +306,5 @@ == Controversy, concerns, and criticisms since 2011 == + [[Gregory Jaczko]] was chairman of the NRC when the 2011 [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster|Fukushima disaster]] occurred in Japan. Jaczko looked for lessons for the US, and strengthened security regulations for [[nuclear power plant]]s. For example, he supported the requirement that new plants to be able to withstand an aircraft crash.<ref name=nrc /> On February 9, 2012, Jaczko cast the lone dissenting vote on plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in more than 30 years when the NRC voted 4–1 to allow Atlanta-based Southern Co to build and operate two new nuclear power reactors at its existing [[Vogtle Electric Generating Plant]] in Georgia. He cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]], saying "I cannot support issuing this license as if Fukushima never happened".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclear-nrc-idUSTRE8182J720120209 |title=U.S. approves first new nuclear plant in a generation |author=Ayesha Rascoe | date=Feb 9, 2012 |work=Reuters }}</ref> In July 2011, Mark Cooper said that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is "on the defensive to prove it is doing its job of ensuring safety".<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/67/4/8.abstract |title=The implications of Fukushima: The US perspective |author=Mark Cooper |date=July 2011 |volume=67 |issue=4 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |page=9 |doi=10.1177/0096340211414840 |s2cid=146270304 }}</ref> In October 2011, Jaczko described "a tension between wanting to move in a timely manner on regulatory questions, and not wanting to go too fast".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-n-r-c-goes-social/ |title=The N.R.C. Goes Social |author=Matthew Wald |date=October 4, 2011 |work=New York Times }}</ref> @@ -341,4 +342,8 @@ {{As of|2011|11|alt = In November 2011}}, Jaczko warned power companies against complacency and said the agency must "push ahead with new rules prompted by the nuclear crisis in Japan, while also resolving long-running issues involving fire protection and a new analysis of earthquake risks".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827034738/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/nrc-chair-warns-nuclear-industry-against-complacency-says-it-must-resolve-long-running-issues/2011/11/10/gIQAq32l9M_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 August 2016 |title=NRC chair warns nuclear industry against complacency, says it must resolve long-running issues |date=11 November 2011 |newspaper=Washington Post }}</ref> + +The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also been criticized for its reluctance to allow for innovation and experimentation, even controlled for and purportedly safe methods of deploying nuclear power that countries such as Poland are approving before the United States. As reported by [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] in May of 2022: {{blockquote|Oregon's NuScale Power signed an agreement with the Polish mining and processing firm KGHM to deploy NuScale's innovative small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Poland by 2029. At the U.N.'s Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November, NuScale contracted with a Romanian energy company to deploy its SMR technology in that country by 2028. NuScale has signed similar memoranda of understanding with electric power companies in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine. + +This kind of advanced energy technology will likely be powering homes and businesses in Europe before the first reactor is completed in the United States. That's because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in no hurry to help.}}<ref name="America's Nuclear Reluctance – Reason">{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Ronald |title=America's Nuclear Reluctance |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=25 May 2022}}</ref> ==See also== '</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-new_size mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">New page size (<code>new_size</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">57848</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-old_size mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Old page size (<code>old_size</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">56495</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-edit_delta mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Size change in edit (<code>edit_delta</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">1353</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-added_lines mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Lines added in edit (<code>added_lines</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">[ 0 => '', 1 => '', 2 => 'The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has also been criticized for its reluctance to allow for innovation and experimentation, even controlled for and purportedly safe methods of deploying nuclear power that countries such as Poland are approving before the United States. As reported by [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] in May of 2022: {{blockquote|Oregon's NuScale Power signed an agreement with the Polish mining and processing firm KGHM to deploy NuScale's innovative small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Poland by 2029. At the U.N.'s Glasgow Climate Change Conference in November, NuScale contracted with a Romanian energy company to deploy its SMR technology in that country by 2028. NuScale has signed similar memoranda of understanding with electric power companies in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine.', 3 => '', 4 => 'This kind of advanced energy technology will likely be powering homes and businesses in Europe before the first reactor is completed in the United States. That's because the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is in no hurry to help.}}<ref name="America's Nuclear Reluctance – Reason">{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Ronald |title=America's Nuclear Reluctance |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=25 May 2022}}</ref>' ]</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-removed_lines mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">Lines removed in edit (<code>removed_lines</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">[]</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-added_links mw-abuselog-value"><td class="mw-abuselog-var">All external links added in the edit (<code>added_links</code>)</td><td class="mw-abuselog-var-value"><div class="mw-abuselog-var-value">[ 0 => 'https://reason.com/2022/05/23/americas-nuclear-reluctance/?utm_medium=email' ]</div></td></tr> <tr class="mw-abuselog-details-all_links 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