NRC Removes Quality Assurance Programs and Whistleblower Protections

[bananas]

http://www.greenmountaindaily.com/diary/10162/nrc-fails-on-safety-and-whistleblower-protections

NRC Fails on Safety and Whistleblower Protections

by: Sue Prent, Mon Nov 11, 2013

<snip>

It has always been required of those seeking a license to build and operate a nuclear power plant, that they have in place a "quality assurance program" from the very start, when core-borings and critical assesments are made in order to evaluate the suitability of a planned siting.

As Arnie Gundersen explains in the most recent video from Fairewinds Associates, the NRC has reinterpreted its own rules so that the quality assurance program is not required to be in place until the completed application passes over the NRC's desk, well after sensitive findings should have been collected and evaluated.

This came to light in recent hearings held in Monroe, Michigan by the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, at which Arnie gave testimony against the NRC, bringing the reinterpretation to light for the first time. The NRC appears to have instituted the changes without advising that they had done so.

<snip>

Perhaps even more concerning is the impact this reinterpretation has on "whistleblowers;" those folks upon whom we must depend to tell us when mistakes have been made so that they can be addressed in a timely manner. By moving the point at which the plant operator is regarded as an "applicant" to the end of the process, the NRC has effectively removed whistleblower protections for workers involved in the preliminary work to obtain a permit to operate.

Removing whistleblower protections for plant workers in the preliminary development of a nuclear facility, exposes the general population to unacceptable risk.

<snip>

[Divernan]

1. Key question: Did this proBigNuke pandering happen on Obama's watch, i.e, since 2008?

If it happened before Obama took office, why has he not had the NRC reverse back to its original, far safer policy? Whatever date the change took place, Obama has clearly endorsed it.

Obviously, this is obscenely beneficial ($$$$) to Big Nuke industry and detrimental to public safety. Obama has benefitted from Exelon donations since he was in the Illinois Senate. "Obama himself accepted $159,800 from executives and employees of Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power plant operator and Exelon’s Frank Clark was an Obama bundler who brought in more than $200,000 for his campaign." (for just one of his elections - I didn't look up all his election donations from them). http://www.oregontrialadvocate.com/2010/03/28/obama-supports-giving-nuclear-power-loan-guarantees/
Exelon, headquartered in Chicago, has had full or majority ownership of 17 nuclear reactors in 10 nuclear power plants. Exelon has operations and business activities in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Canada and is the largest competitive U.S. power generator with approximately 35,000 megawatts of owned capacity
And from the OP link:

This represents a complete flip-flop on the part of the NRC from its earlier position.

A less than scrupulous applicant would have ample opportunity under the new interpretation to pass off poor or incomplete preliminary work as satisfactorily completed without any required verification.

Considering how many siting errors have been discovered in operating reactors built under the old rules, it is truly frightening to think what the consequences might be if a quality assurance program is no longer required until late in the licensing process.

[Divernan]

2. Obama doubles down on supporting nuclear power plants; Germany closes 7 nuclear power plants.

Obama Backing Key to Nuclear Power

Washington – At a press conference entitled “The Future of Nuclear Power,” financial expert Kevin Book said that President Barrack Obama is a “resolute advocate” for nuclear power, supporting the industry even after the Fukushima Daiichi power plant disaster. Book, an energy analyst with ClearView Energy Resources, said Obama’s support does more to preserve the future of nuclear power than any other politician in Washington. Book believes that as a result of the Japanese tragedy, the nuclear power industry will have trouble raising money in private markets because of costs, concerns about liability and the slowness of the regulatory process.

President Obama received generous support from the nuclear industry during his presidential campaign and several key aides have close ties to nuclear power plant operators.

When asked about the financial impact of Fukushima Daiichi on the French-government-owned nuclear giant AREVA, Book said that AREVA’s problems with MOX fuel was number three on his list of economic fallout from the reactor disaster. Book said he did not want to speculate on what would happen if the French nuclear giant begins to lose contracts, many of them backed by governments around the world. The U.S. government has several contracts with AREVA including a $5 billion MOX fuel plant under construction in South Carolina,

Book said that safety concerns from Fukushima may cause regulators in the United States to impose new standards on existing plants up for license renewal and, if those required investments seem too costly to utilities, they may withdraw renewal applications. Book said investors do not like risks and the nuclear industry is very risky financially even though he believes that nuclear power has been proven “scientifically a safe fuel.” He looks to Germany as the bellwether for the future. Germany reversed course after Fukushima and has closed seven nuclear power plants and is reviewing the extension of 17 others. He called their decisions “flighty” and “emotional.”
- See more at: http://www.dcbureau.org/20110414358/bulldog-blog/obama-backing-key-to-nuclear-power.html#sthash.VEAufkDg.dpuf

What a pathetic joke for a Big Nuke hack to call Germany's decision "flighty & emotional". If there's one thing Germany is known for it's top flight, no-nonsense engineering & technical expertise.

[enough]

3. k&r (nt)

[marble falls]

4. Hey, what's the worst tha tcould happen? Thinning of the herd?