US nuclear watchdog questions oversight of safety enforcement

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/13/10399062-us-nuclear-watchdog-questions-oversight-of-safety-enforcement

By M. Alex Johnson 2/13/2012

The federal government's nuclear watchdog has faulted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for failing to follow through on safety agreements with nuclear facilities, saying its system for tracking corrective action raises questions about its oversight of nuclear safety and security.

After an eight-month audit, the NRC's Office of Inspector General concluded last week that the commission has no centralized way to oversee or follow up on documents confirming that a nuclear facility has committed itself to address "significant concerns regarding health and safety, the environment, safeguards or security."

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The problem is one of red tape, not willful inaction or neglect, the report says. But the weaknesses — which include lack of consistent guidelines for regional NRC offices, regional offices' failure to comply with those guidelines and some offices' lack of any tracking system whatsoever — "degrade" the agency's accountability, it says.

A spokesman for the NRC said the agency believes "the CAL process has been effective" and that it would have a formal reply "in the near future." In an informal meeting last month, the NRC generally agreed with the inspector general's recommendations to update its main enforcement manual, centralize tracking and submit to occasional audits of the action letter system, the report said.

If the NRC is to do that, it will not be with added staff or money. In its fiscal 2013 budget request, the agency notes that it's asking for about $128 million less than it got last year, including what it called a "cost-conscious" reduction of 25 jobs.

And those cuts are coming as concerns are rising over the safety of America's aging nuclear infrastructure.

Until last week, the NRC hadn't licensed any new reactors for more than 30 years. Consequently, many of the nation's 104 nuclear plants are operating under licenses that the NRC has extended for up to 20 years beyond their original 40-year lifespans.

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