WASHINGTON -- The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's staff is recommending that the agency cut back on inspections at the country's nuclear reactors, a cost-cutting move promoted by the nuclear power industry but denounced by opponents as a threat to public safety.
The recommendations, made public late Tuesday, include reducing the time and scope of some annual inspections at the nation's 90-plus nuclear power plants. Some other inspections would be cut from every two years to every three years.
Some of the staff's recommendations would require a vote by the commission. A majority of its members were appointed or reappointed by President Donald Trump, who has urged agencies to reduce regulatory requirements for industries.
The nuclear power industry has prodded regulators to cut inspections, saying that the nuclear facilities are operating well and that the inspections are a financial burden for power providers. Nuclear power, like coal-fired power, has been struggling in a market with cheaper natural gas and an increasing amount of renewable energy.
While Tuesday's report made clear that there was considerable disagreement within the nuclear agency's staff, it contended that the inspection reduction "improves efficiency while still helping to ensure reasonable assurance of adequate protection to the public."
Commission member Jeff Baran criticized the proposed changes Tuesday, saying that reducing oversight of the nuclear power industry "would take us in the wrong direction."
"NRC shouldn't perform fewer inspections or weaken its safety oversight to save money," Baran said.
Baran urged the commission to put the inspection rollbacks up for a broader public discussion before deciding.
"It affects every power reactor in the country," he said. "We should absolutely hear from a broad range of stakeholders before making any far-reaching changes to NRC's safety oversight program."
The report's release came a day after Democratic lawmakers faulted the commission's deliberations, saying it had failed to adequately inform the public of the changes under consideration.
"Cutting corners on such critical safety measures may eventually lead to a disaster that could be detrimental to the future of the domestic nuclear industry," Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and other House Democrats said in a letter Monday to commission chairman Kristine Svinicki.
Asked for comment Tuesday, commission representatives pointed to the staff arguments for the changes. Trimming overall inspections "will improve effectiveness because inspectors again will be focused on issues of greater safety significance," the staff told commission members in the recommendations.
Edwin Lyman, a nuclear power expert at the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists, criticized the reasoning of the commission staff that the good performance of much of the nuclear power industry warranted cutting back on agency inspections for problems and potential problems.
"That completely ignores the cause-and-effect relationship between inspections and good performances," Lyman said.
Business on 07/18/2019