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Earlier today, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a study that concluded that the NRC needs to do a better job understanding how the public might react in response to theoretical incidents at U.S. nuclear power plants . In response to media inquiries concerning the study, NEI issued the...

Jim Asselstine The following is a guest post submitted by Scott Peterson, NEI's senior vice president of communications . SINGAPORE-- Jim Asselstine has an unparalleled pedigree to assess the nuclear energy industry. He has analyzed the industry for the past 23 years at Lehman Brothers and Barclays...

Marv Fertel The following statement can be attributed to Marv Fertel, NEI's President and CEO. The entire statement was provided to Matt Wald of the New York Times in response to comments made yesterday in Washington by former U.S. NRC Chairman Greg Jaczko: “U.S. nuclear energy facilities are operating...

From the NRC Blog : The NRC has already ordered numerous upgrades to nuclear power plant safety based on what we’ve learned about the Fukushima nuclear incident in 2011. Now, the NRC’s Commission is doing more. They have just approved a two-track approach for additional improvements to systems at 31...

Recent media reports accusing the nuclear energy industry of opposing the installation of filtered vents on Mark I and II boiling water reactors (BWRs) are incorrect. What is really at stake is taking the most meaningful steps at nuclear plants to prevent and manage an accident like the one at Fukushima...

Some facts UCS left out. If you were concerned with the safety of America's nuclear energy facilities, I could understand why this blog post from Matt Wald at NY Times Green might cause you a bit of pause. In it, David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists makes the claim that industry and...

Representatives of the nuclear energy industry once again this week asked the NRC to adopt a performance-based approach to minimize the release of radioactivity from damaged fuel in a severe accident, while agency staff reiterated its earlier recommendation to require external filters for the containment...

NRC staff has recommended requiring engineered filters to the containment vents for early-model boiling water reactors as a post-Fukushima response. A staff paper (SECY-12-0157) released this week for the commission’s consideration said an alternative performance-based approach to filtering preferred...

The following news article originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The NRC’s regulatory framework and processes for considering off-site property damage from unintended releases of radioactive material are “sound” and provide enough flexibility to account for economic consequences in the...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The International Atomic Energy Agency is leading a “seismic study mission” to collect data about the effects of the 2011 earthquake on Japan’s Onagawa Nuclear Power Station. IAEA said the mission will include regulators from different countries and other experts. The goal...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs a clear safety imperative for drafting options for a new regulatory framework, as recommended by the agency’s post-Fukushima task force, industry said this week. The schedule for this...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The U.S. nuclear energy industry has begun to implement safety enhancements based on recommendations from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Japan task force. Last week, NRC staff observed inspections conducted by Dominion at its Kewaunee nuclear station in Wisconsin...

Industry/Regulatory/Political An independent commission appointed by Japan’s parliament to study the causes of last year’s nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi harshly criticized the government, the plant operator and the country’s national culture. After conducting 900 hours of public hearings and...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NEI is urging the NRC to remain focused on the high-priority recommendations from the agency’s Fukushima task force before proceeding with implementation of the lower-priority items. “Preliminary industry assessments indicate that...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The Japanese government is expected to authorize the resumption of operations of two reactors at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture as early as Saturday. Last Sunday the prefecture’s nuclear safety committee approved a report guaranteeing the reactors...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The NRC has endorsed the industry guidance on flooding and seismic walkdowns developed in response to recommendations from the post-Fukushima task force but asked for two changes in in the guidance on flooding. In a May 31 letter...

While the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is primarily known for its oversight functions, the agency, together with the Department of Energy, is also responsible for awarding a wide array of academic scholarships, fellowships and other institutional support that's designed to promote the development...

Industry/Regulatory/Political The Japanese government and four regional power companies will announce electricity rationing contingency plans by mid-June. With all of Japan’s nuclear reactors offline, the government is predicting power shortages in the western and northern areas of the country...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NEI urged the NRC to focus on high-priority “Tier 1” recommendations from the agency’s Fukushima task force report at a meeting at NRC headquarters last week attended by NEI’s Fukushima Steering Committee and agency staff. “The...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The nuclear energy industry’s priority is to make post-Fukushima enhancements “that will provide the greatest safety benefits in the shortest amount of time with the least distraction to our commitment to safe operations,” NEI...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. NEI has submitted for NRC review a guidance document on the industry’s FLEX strategy. The 99-page document presents the industry’s strategy to enhance nuclear reactor operators’ ability to cope with severe natural events by deploying...

The following story originally appeared in NEI’s Nuclear Energy Overview. The NRC is developing preliminary work plans on the longer-term recommendations of the agency’s post-Fukushima task force, starting with a series of public meetings to obtain input from stakeholders. The discussions follow close...

Industry/Regulatory/Political Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari 3, Japan’s last operating commercial nuclear reactor, shut down for regular inspections March 5, marking the first time in 42 years that Japan has not had a reactor generating electricity. Japan has 50 operable commercial units. The national...

South Carolina Gas and Electric received its combined construction and operating license (COL) from the NRC for two new reactors at its V.C. Summer facility. Let’s let them tell you about it: South Carolina Electric & Gas Company, principal subsidiary of SCANA Corporation , and Santee Cooper, South...

Mark your calendars : The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is poised to award Scana Corp. (SCG) a license to build two reactors in South Carolina , the second such action after a three-decade drought. The NRC will vote March 30 on the Cayce, South Carolina- based company’s proposal to build two units...