The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) lowers safety standards in order to keep old nuclear power plants, such as San Onofre, operating.
The NRC planned to lower a significant safety standard that would make it easier for SoCal Edison to restart their defective San Onofre Unit 2 nuclear reactor.
Instead of their mission of “protecting people and the environment”, their priority appears to be “protecting nuclear industry profits”.
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- With 90% of their over $1 billion budget coming from nuclear industry fees there is an obvious conflict of interest.
“… the NRC is required, by law, to recover about 90 percent of our budget authority directly from the industry that we regulate… The NRC received a bit more than $1 billion for FY 2012, so the amount we will recover in fees by Sept. 30 is approximately $909.5 million. We collect those fees and send the money back to the U.S. Treasury.”
— Arlette Howard, NRC Fee Policy Analyst
See also Federal Register: Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2012
“This happened June 4th, 1998. That’s the day the NRC even stopped pretending to be an aggressive regulator. The Senate Appropriations Committee was headed by former Senator Pete Domenici from New Mexico.”
—David Lochbaum, Director of Nuclear Safety Project, Union of Concerned Scientists
There are many dedicated employees at the NRC doing the best they can under these circumstances. However, the following reports are examples of why we cannot count on the NRC to protect us.
Government Reports
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- Allegations of safety culture issues in NRC’s Region IV and management bonuses based on agreeing with nuclear plant licensees – Rep. Edward J. Markey 10-02-2012
- Regulatory Meltdown – Four NRC Commissioners Undermine Safety – Rep. Edward J. Markey staff report 12-09-2011
- Fukushima Fallout – Regulatory Loopholes at U.S. Nuclear Plants – Rep. Edward J. Markey staff report 05-12-2011
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- Lessons Learned from Fukushima – NRC Recommendations for Enhancing Reactor Safety in the 21st Century; The Near-Term Task Force Review of Insights from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident 07-12-2011
- Expanded NRC Questions and Answers related to the March 11, 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami 04-13-2011
Aging Nukes: A four-part investigative series by Jeff Donn, Associated Press (APWire), April 16, 2012
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- Part I: US nuke regulators weaken safety rules
- Part II: Tritium leaks found at many nuke sites
- Part III: Populations around US nuke plants soar
- Part IV: NRC,and industry rewrite nuke history
- Interview with author, Jeff Donn, reveals Nuclear Regulatory Commission colluded with industry to weaken safety standards, Juan González and Amy Goodman, Truthout
Other Sources
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- Court orders NRC to take a second look at waste storage – Brattleboro Reformer [Vermont] 2012-06-09
- David Lochbaum: “The NRC Is Not Doing Its Job” – Frontline 01/17/2012
- Nuclear Miscalculations – Why Regulators Miss Power Plant Threats from Quakes and Storms 09-13-2011
- U.S. is Increasing Nuclear Power through Uprating – LA Times 04-17-2011
- Safety Compromised for Industry Profits – Public Citizen Safety Factsheet
- Whistleblowers Say Nuclear Regulatory Commission Watchdog is Losing its Bite – ProPublica 07/27/2011
Video
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- Danger – Aging Nuclear Reactors – Center for Investigative Reporting
- Congress told NRC: stop enforcing regulations or we’ll cut your budget
San Onofre Safety 
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Thank you for providing an excellent list of articles which can be resourced under other articles which concern the welfare and safety of nuclear energy.
1. “What if you were promoting an industry that had the potential to kill and injure enormous numbers of people as well as contaminate large areas of land for tens of thousands of years? What if this industry created vast stockpiles of deadly waste but nevertheless required massive amounts of public funding to keep it going? My guess is that you might want to hide that information.”
“In response, the nuclear industry and its supporters have employed sophisticated press manipulation to move the public conversation away from these thorny issues.”
Read more: http://whowhatwhy.com/2012/02/10/nuclear-damage-control/#ixzz1mUB5BPa4
2. Nuclear power could be safe, if designed and operated correctly. Neither the nuclear industry or government regulators care about safety.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/02/nrc-approves-new-u-s-nuclear-reactors-in-30-years-fatal-flaws-in-fukushima-design-not-fixed.html
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ART AND SCIENCE OF DECEPTION
The Art of Deception: The Cult of Nuclearists, Uranium Weapons and Fraudulent Science; via A Green Road Blog
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/03/primer-in-art-of-deception-cult-of.html
Radioactive Beach In Guarapari, Brazil; via A Green Road Blog http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/04/radioactive-beach-sand-in-brazil.html
93 Long life Radiation Contaminants; via A Green Road Blog http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/03/93-long-lived-nuclear-elements.html
Tokyo; is it safe to live in or visit? via A Green Road Blog http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/03/tokyo-is-it-safe-to-visit-or-live-in.html
Fukushima Lies Movie Part I and II; via A Green Road Blog; via A Green Road Blog
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/03/fukushima-lies-movie-part-i-and-ii.html
Fukushima; Today’s Titantic and Costa Concordia; via A Green Road Blog
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/04/fukushima-todays-titantic-and-costa.html
On 3/11; 15 Nuclear Reactors In Japan Were Damaged, Not 3 or 4
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/03/14-nuclear-reactors-at-4-japan-sites.html
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