U.S. NRC Blog

Updating Nuclear Materials Transportation Regulations

U.S. NRC — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:06:50 GMT

Jessica Umaña Project Manager, Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation The idea of transporting nuclear materials can make people nervous. It’s easy to imagine worst-case accidents on the highway or involving a train. But stringent safety...(read more)

When Gauges Go Missing …

U.S. NRC — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:23:25 GMT

Neil Sheehan Public Affairs Officer, Region I It’s easy to imagine the sense of distress that must have washed over a portable nuclear gauge user one recent morning when he realized the device he had stowed in the back of his truck was missing. The...(read more)

Emergency Preparedness on a Smaller Scale: Research Reactors

U.S. NRC — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:08:24 GMT

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...(read more)

When “Nuclear” is the Star of Stage and Screen

U.S. NRC — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:38:26 GMT

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...(read more)

Writing in Plain English—An Ongoing Challenge

U.S. NRC — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:35:32 GMT

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...(read more)

When Problems Are a Sign of Success

U.S. NRC — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:12:19 GMT

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...(read more)

Tracking the Source: Pilgrim’s Tritium Link

U.S. NRC — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:43:06 GMT

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...(read more)

Q&A With NRC Kids: Radiation and Other Questions

U.S. NRC — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:23:46 GMT

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...(read more)

Let’s Chat – Coming Soon to the NRC

U.S. NRC — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:49:04 GMT

Holly Harrington Senior Advisor The NRC is expanding its social media program next week by launching a pilot of a live discussion platform known as NRC Chat. The first Chat is scheduled for April 30 at 2 p.m. EST on the subject of history of U.S. nuclear...(read more)

Ensuring the Safety of Spent Fuel in Storage

U.S. NRC — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:22:36 GMT

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...(read more)

NRC Sends Additional Inspectors to Oversee Perry’s Refueling Outage

U.S. NRC — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 13:17:33 GMT

Viktoria Mitlying Senior Public Affairs Officer Region III A refueling outage is a time when the number of workers at the plant soars from 700 to about 2,000 — with most working in highly radioactive areas of the plant not accessible during normal...(read more)

NRC Posts Newly Digitized Historical Images on Flickr

U.S. NRC — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:59:07 GMT

Ivonne Couret Public Affairs Officer Are you interested in what President Jimmy Carter looked like when he toured Three Mile Island in the spring of 1979? Or see the change in fashion styles of NRC engineers over the past decades? These photos and more...(read more)

The NRC and Protecting the Environment: The NEPA Process

U.S. NRC — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 14:29:10 GMT

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...(read more)

Inspector General Report Identifies Ways To Improve NRC’s Safeguards Information Local Area Network and Electronic Safe

U.S. NRC — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:16:17 GMT

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...(read more)

Inspector General Report Presents Results of the NRC 2012 Safety Culture and Climate Survey

U.S. NRC — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:35:22 GMT

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...(read more)