Senator Feinstein deserves better staff support. Crystal River concrete NOT age related issue

Apparently, someone on Senator Feinstein’s staff believes that the concrete delamination (cracking) issue at Crystal River was an age-related issue. With that incorrect knowledge of the situation, they decided that it could be used to publicly discredit the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s cooperation in an industry-led initiative to extend the operating lives of nuclear plants beyond…

Licensing demonstration reactors in the United States

During the joint DOE-NRC workshop on advanced non-light water reactors held last week (Sep 1-2, 2015), John Adams of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation gave a presentation on reactor license classification terminology. It made me squirm in my chair with the desire to interrupt. Probably because he has read and…

No intrigue at NRC regarding Stephen Burns

On September 16, 2014, Stephen Burns and Jeff Baran were confirmed as Commissioners at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the Senate. Thirty days later, on October 14, 2014, Jeff Baran was sworn in and began serving out the remainder of the term of William Magwood, who left the commission to take over as Director-General of…

"Small and Medium Reactors" or "Small Modular Reactors" – Either Way, The US NRC and US DOE Notice a Growing Interest in SMR, Are Listening Carefully and Ready to Engage

On Thursday, October 8 and Friday, October 9, the US Nuclear Regulator Commission hosted a workshop to discuss generic issues related to licensing of small and medium-sized nuclear reactors. The meeting was billed as the first in a series on the topic. The NRC managers responsible for Advanced Reactors organized the meeting because they have…