In a tumultuous week of events, the United States came a step closer to ushering in a new generation of nuclear power plants with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approving a new reactor design. At the same time, according to a December 14 Reuters article, Congress got an ear full from members of that commission, who have accused their chairman of creating a toxic environment within the agency. Here are the highlights of both issues:
* According to an article by Bloomberg, on December 14, Tokyo-based Toshiba Corp.'s Westinghouse Electric received the third of five votes from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission members to certify the design of its AP1000 reactor. Southern Co. and Scana Corp. plan to use the new reactor at existing U.S. plants. Dale Klein, former NRC chairman and chancellor for research at the University of Texas states that this action opens the door for a new generation of power plants.
* The NRC hasn't issued a construction license for a U.S. nuclear plant since the 1979 Three Mile Island incident in Pennsylvania.
* According to a report commissioned by environmentalist groups including Friends of the Earth and the North Carolina Waste Awareness & Reduction Network, the AP1000's design will not withstand potentially high pressure inside the reactor. The groups have vowed to take their problems with the reactor's designs to the courtroom unless NRC reconsiders. However, Bloomberg reported, the AP1000 already incorporates safety features that were prioritized by an NRC task force who examined U.S. plants after the Fukushima meltdown in Japan last March.
* The announcement of the majority vote for certification of the design came one day after a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in which strained relations between members of the 5-person commission reached a boiling point. According to Reuters, Democratic commissioners William Magwood and George Apostolakis joined Republicans Kristine Svinicki and William Ostendorff in accusing NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko of bullying people, withholding information and interfering with their access to senior staff.
* At the two-hour hearing, Jaczko said his colleagues had "misconstrued" his intensity and suggested that a mediator might help improve communications between himself and his colleagues. He stated that this was the first time he'd heard many of these accusations.
* The ranking Democrat on the committee, Elijah Cummings (MD) chastised the commissioners and told them he felt like he was trying to referee a fight; something he hadn't done since his kids were children.
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