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Elaine Grossman has published a piece on Nextgov.com titled Former Defense Brass Object to ‘More Restrictive’ Nuclear Trade Policies that is critical of an effort led by John Hamre to question recent deliberations by the Obama Administration. The end result of the talks has the potential...

Dr. Jerry Cuttler has been concentrating his research on the health effects of low dose radiation for more than 15 years. The events at Fukushima and the human tragedy of the poor decision making both during and after the release of modest quantities of radioactive material have reinforced the importance...

Matt Wald responded to the comment I described in my post titled Too Hot to Touch – Matt Wald’s review of new book on nuclear waste issue. As a brief reminder, in that post I told him that he and the authors of Too Hot To Touch were misinforming the public by stating that the [...] The post US EPA dose...

Ted Rockwell has been an active participant in the development of nuclear energy production in the United States since the very earliest days of the technology. He started his nuclear career as an engineering troubleshooter in 1943 at the site that is now Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the Manhattan...

Dear President Obama: I was heartened to hear that you have put fighting climate change near the top of your “to do” list during your second term. It is time for you to dig through your memory banks, your pile of correspondence and the lessons you are learning by studying Eisenhower’s...

When the National Academy of Sciences issued its report on uranium mining in Virginia, it included a phrase about “steep hurdles” that has been seized by the people opposed to the enterprise and repeated as almost a mantra. It has made an appearance in almost every article I have read on...

On December 21, 2012, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) blog posted a letter from Chairman Macfarlane titled A Visit to Japan: Reflections from the Chairman. She has recently returned from a trip to Japan and a visit to the evacuated areas near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Here...

On December 18, 2012, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) published a notice in the Federal Register (74788-74798 vol, 77, No. 243) announcing that it would consider in the rulemaking process the issues raised in a petition (Docket No. PRM-50-96: NRC-2011-0069) asserting that existing...

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) blog has an interesting post titled EXIT — A Good Sign of Radiation that takes a baby step toward helping the public understand that radioactive materials have special, valuable properties. People need information about the value of radioactive material as well...

On Friday, Nov 16, I wrote about the potential impact of applying a “peanut butter spread” sequestration algorithm to the NRC budget. (I spent a few years as a government budget analyst, so I sometimes speak the lingo.) If the accountants at the Office of Management and Budget continue on...

It is time to remind Congress and the President that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s budget is, by law, almost 90% funded with fees assessed on licensees. The structure was put into place during the Reagan Administration at a time when David Stockman was selling the idea that the government...

Yesterday I wrote about the need to rationally compare the physical risks associated with producing energy by burning natural gas against the similar risks of producing energy by fissioning uranium in a nuclear power plant. However, even when decision makers includes some reasonable estimates for those...

The temperature in the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 spent fuel pool never exceeded 90 degrees C and the level in the pool never fell below the top of the used fuel that was stored there. The Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the people who supported his testimony to Congress on the afternoon...

It worried me to learn that on Saturday, September 22, Allison Macfarlane, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and William Magwood, one of the four Commissioners who serve with Dr. Macfarlane on the five member Commission, held a private meeting with six representatives of groups...

By Paul T. Dickman Paul Dickman was a career Federal environmental scientist specializing in nuclear waste and nuclear materials management. He served as Chief of Staff to NRC Chairman Dale E. Klein. Part 2 of 2 NRC’s Draft Waste Confidence Decision Update of October 2008 was based on an understanding...

By Paul T. Dickman Paul Dickman was a career Federal environmental scientist specializing in nuclear waste and nuclear materials management. He served as Chief of Staff to NRC Chairman Dale E. Klein. Last week’s vote by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission comes as no surprise to those of us who watched...

A post titled Bill Magwood, NRC Democrat, Is ‘Treacherous, Miserable Liar’ And ‘First-Class Rat,’ Says Harry Reid offers an illuminating view of political thinking coming from inside the Washington, DC beltway. That way of thinking, in this case, can be traced back to Las Vegas...

Readers of Atomic Insights know that I have never been a fan of Dr. Greg Jaczko. He is a politician with no background in nuclear energy production either through education or professional experience. His only claim to knowledge of nuclear energy came through his policy jobs on Congressional and Senate...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a brief press release late in the afternoon of June 9, 2012 titled ALLISON M. MACFARLANE BECOMES 15TH NRC CHAIRMAN. Here is the text of that press release: Dr. Allison M. Macfarlane, designated by President Obama as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission...

NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko was asked to resign from his position of authority over the Nuclear Regulatory Commission because the agency charged with independent audits of his organization found that he was not trustworthy and not discharging the duties assigned to him as the Chairman of a duly appointed...

In keeping with a familiar pattern, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko issued a press release in advance of the the official release of a damaging NRC Inspector General (IG) report about him. In my opinion, for what little it is worth, it is another example of his routine abuse...

I just finished watching the archived video of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the nominations of Dr. Allison Macfarlane to be a Commissioner and Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Kristine Svinicki to serve an additional five year term as a Commissioner. It...

On June 13, 2012, Allison Macfarlane will be a witness in her confirmation hearing as a new commissioner and the prospective Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Commissioner Kristine Svinicki will also be a witness in her quest to be confirmed for a second term as a commissioner. In June 2007...

I’ve noticed an interesting pattern. A day or two before something negative about Dr. Greg Jaczko is released to the press, Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) goes on the offensive against the source providing the negative news. It happened on December 9, 2011. On that day, Congressman Markey released...

A number of people who have read of my opposition to the appointment of Dr. Allison Macfarlane to be the Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission have counseled me to passively accept a “done deal” because they believe it is obvious that the fix has been in for quite some time. They...