*[Enwl-eng] Don't play with our safety, NRC

[ENWL]

Nuclear Information and Resource Service

            The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) duty is to protect the 
health and safety of the American people from an inherently dangerous 
industry. But for decades, the NRC has been badly falling down on the job.

                  The NRC now wants to ax one of its most basic safety 
regulations: emergency plans for nuclear disasters. The NRC wants to rewrite 
the rules so that certain kinds of new reactors will be exempt from 
providing site-specific Emergency Response Plans that must be approved by 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Instead, the proposal would let 
plant owners determine what the size of the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) 
should be—or whether offsite emergency planning is necessary at all.

                  This proposal would leave the public unprotected in the 
case of a large release of radiation. The NRC would let newfangled reactors 
that are untested and unproven off the hook and allow plant owners to police 
themselves when it comes to safety. When disaster strikes, public officials 
and plant operators would have to figure out—on the fly—how to protect 
people, who and when to evacuate, how to notify people, how to transport and 
shelter them, and more.

                  The comment period for this terrible idea closes in three 
weeks. Tell the NRC: Don’t play with our emergency plans.

                  Since the Three Mile Island disaster, emergency planning 
has been a bedrock of nuclear safety regulation for the last 40 years. It is 
the very last line of defense to protect public health and safety when all 
else fails. If anything, the nuclear disasters at Fukushima and Chernobyl 
prove that the NRC’s emergency planning requirements should be more 
stringent, not less.

                  The NRC seems to think that the small modular reactors and 
non-light water reactors covered in their proposal don’t need the same level 
of emergency preparedness as their older counterparts. But there’s no reason 
to think this. They may be smaller than current reactors, but they would 
still contain large amounts of radiological material. And since they are 
untested and unproven, they should be at least as tightly regulated as their 
older counterparts, if not more so.

                  With its latest proposal, the NRC is putting the economic 
interests of the nuclear industry ahead of the health and safety of the 
American people. The comment period for this terrible idea is open right 
now. Tell the NRC: Don’t play with our emergency plans.

                  We need emergency planning for nuclear facilities more 
than ever. Climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of 
natural disasters that could cause nuclear emergencies, as well as 
complicate emergency response plans. But the NRC doesn’t even mention 
climate change or extreme weather events in their proposal.

                  It’s high time the NRC put the health and safety of the 
American people above the economic interests of the nuclear industry. The 
comment period for this terrible idea closes in three weeks. Tell the NRC: 
Don’t play with our emergency plans.

                  We’ll keep you updated about this and other nuclear policy 
developments during the rest of the summer. In the meantime, we hope you’re 
staying healthy and safe.

                  Thanks for your all you do,

                  The NIRS Team

                  Diane D'Arrigo
                  Luis Hestres
                  Denise Jakobsberg
                  Tim Judson





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From: Nuclear Information and Resource Service
Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2020 8:15 PM
Subject: Don't play with our safety, NRC

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