NRC's role is not to promote new plants, commissioners say

NRC's role is not to promote new plants, commissioners say

Washington (Platts)--11May2005


Licensing and regulating, not promoting, is the NRC's role in the industry's 
efforts to build new nuclear power plants in the U.S., the NRC commissioners 
said at an all-hands meeting today. They were responding to a written question
submitted anonymously during the afternoon session by an employee who
indicated that some commissioners appeared to be advocating new construction.
Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield said that the agency's responsibility as a
regulator is not to encourage the industry, but neither should it be
discouraging it. The meeting, which has been an annual tradition since 1991,
takes place under a large white tent on the grounds of the NRC complex at its
Rockville, Md. headquarters. Employees took advantage of the opportunity to
ask the commissioners a wide variety of questions such as their views on
reprocessing, NRC work-force diversity, and the agency's relationship with the
IAEA.

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