U.S. NRC Blog

This past weekend I had the honor of leading a delegation of U.S. officials to an international conference in Japan designed to keep up the global momentum of enhancing nuclear safety after the Fukushima accident. We met in Koriyama City, some 30 miles...

This past weekend, NRC set up information booths at two events that each drew several thousand attendees. On Thursday, Aug. 23, the resident inspectors from the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant joined two public affairs officers as well as the Director of...

Matthew Mitchell Chief, Projects Management Branch Japan Lessons-Learned Directorate   When you talk about something over and over again, you sometimes end up with a verbal shorthand to keep conversations moving. The NRC has certainly done that in discussing...

In the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR), located in the agency’s headquarters complex in Rockville, Md., no two days are alike. From answering questions submitted by the public and NRC staff, to assisting visitors with research projects, to locating...

We at the NRC would like to take this time to thank the men and women of the Armed Forces – past and present – for the contribution they have made to our country. We held a ceremony at our HQ building today to honor veterans and, of course, our staff...

Stephen Dingbaum Assistant Inspector General   The Office of the Inspector General’s most recent report — 2012 NRC Safety Culture and Climate Survey – is now available to the public. The results of the survey of the agency workforce were significantly...

Eliot Brenner Director, Office of Public Affairs   Art Linkletter, a 1950s and ‘60s radio and television host, used to interview children for his show “Kids Say the Darndest Things.” In that spirit, at last year’s “Take your Child to Work Day” at the...

Stephen Dingbaum Assistant Inspector General   The Office of the Inspector General’s most recent report – Audit of NRC’s Safeguards Information Local Area Network and Electronic Safe (SLES) – is now available to the public. This audit set out to determine...

Who decides if the U.S. is going to use nuclear energy to meet this country’s electric needs? It’s a question we get here at the NRC not infrequently. The short answer: Congress and the President. Together they make the nation’s laws and policies directing...

The Salem nuclear power plant’s Unit 1 “tripped” on Dec. 21st. Brown’s Ferry Unit 2 tripped the following day. In both cases, something happened that caused the reactor to automatically shut down to ensure safety. In other words, a trip means a plant...

Andy Imboden Chief, Communications Branch, Waste Confidence Directorate   The NRC’s Waste Confidence Directorate has issued its scoping summary report  – based on the 1,700 comments we received on the question of what issues we’ll consider in the environmental...

Mark Lombard Director, Office of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation   While no one can say with certainty today where spent nuclear fuel will ultimately go for long-term storage or disposal, one thing is clear: the current methods of spent fuel storage...

Larry Camper Director Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection   At the NRC, we think of ourselves as an environmental agency. This view is included in the NRC mission statement: “To license and regulate . . . to ensure the adequate protection...

Lauren Gibson Licensing Project Manager   A licensing project manager for an operating reactor has a lot of responsibilities. We coordinate technical reviews, interface with the licensee, support the regional staff and the resident inspectors, respond...

Arlette Howard Fee Policy Analyst Office of the Chief Financial Officer   It’s that time of the year, when we ask the public for their comments about proposed changes to our fees. The NRC is required by law to recover approximately 90 percent of our budget...

The terms “chilling effect” or “chilled work environment” are important ones for the NRC. And they’re not referring to the winter weather. At the NRC, “chilled” refers to a perception that the raising of safety concerns is being suppressed or discouraged...

Scott Burnell Public Affairs Officer   Anything radioactive makes for good drama – or so many television and movie scriptwriters believe. “China Syndrome” in 1979 and “Silkwood” in 1983 are just two examples of movies with nuclear themes – reactors in...

There’s a feeling of normalcy in the NRC’s Region I today. After days of tracking Sandy and assuring the nuclear power plants in the Northeastern U.S. were in a safe condition, the storm is now out of the area and we’re open and back to business as usual...

Last January, the Byron Station, Unit 2, automatically shut down its nuclear reactor because of an electrical power problem. But the way the power was lost – only one phase of three-phase alternating current was lost – in addition to a design problem...

Victor Dricks Senior Public Affairs Officer, Region IV   As the eyes and ears of the NRC, resident inspectors never know when they might have to respond to an emergency at the plants they monitor. Fred Sanchez, Arkansas Nuclear One Senior Resident Inspector...

The NRC has developed an animated timeline to walk you through the major events in our response to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, and the resulting accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. You can also click on specific...

Chris Allen Project Manager Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation   Can a problem show that our regulatory system works? If you don’t think so, read on. Two weeks ago, the NRC published an “information notice” about moisture causing problems...

Glenn Ellmers Senior Communications Specialist   The NRC’s technical experts are highly educated individuals with a lot of expertise in their fields. But getting them to speak in plain English can be a challenge. That can be a problem because the public...

Neil Sheehan Public Affairs Officer, Region I   It may not be as daunting as searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack, but the process of trying to track down the source of tritium contamination at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant has been long...

Michael Norris Reactor Licensing Team Leader Emergency Preparedness Division   When you think of the NRC’s role in emergency preparedness, nuclear power plants probably come first to mind. While we certainly pay a lot of attention to commercial reactors...