| Thanks to nTodd for pointing us toward this choice piece of perspective on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and it's pas de deux with the power industry.
Tom Zeller, writing on Huffington Post draws our attention to a 1992 document entitled "Perspectives on the License Renewal Process." Sent to the NRC by Northern States Power Company, the paper advocated an extremely lenient approach to relicensing: In a nutshell, the document argued that the NRC examined aspects of plant operation beyond the scope of what was necessary for license renewal, and the agency therefore ran the risk of making license renewal uneconomical. Mr. Zeller points out that three years later, in 1995, the NRC changed its rules so as to eliminate entirely the part of the relicensing process that looked at whether or not a facility was in fact, operating in full compliance with it's current license!
Precipitating the 1992 document and subsequent change in NRC rules was a development in the 1980's when a nuclear plant in Monticello, Minnesota that was seeking renewal was found on examination to be so grievously out of compliance that it was forced to close even before its current license had expired.
a result, Monticello's operators -- and the wider industry -- went on the offensive. Now here is where Mr. Zeller really caught my attention because he linked that last phrase to a NY Times article that used a photo of the collapsed tower at Vermont Yankee to illustrate the point that perhaps the NRC is now entirely too cozy with the industry. While this hardly is news to us, it gives some satisfaction to see others connecting the dots.
It would appear that the NRC has effectively taken the extraordinary step of mandating that a blind eye will be turned on any issues of current use. The only remaining criteria are the plans the applicant offers for future operation! Furthermore, it has taken this step soley for the economic advantage it gives to the industry.
In the wake of the Fukushima disaster how can this betrayal of the public trust be tolerated? |
