President Donald Trump has spent the past few weeks repeating that he refuses to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, But back home, the Trump administration has significantly undermined security at the nuclear power plants around the country, CNN reported Tuesday.
Drastic cuts to the federal regulatory agency responsible for keeping nuclear power plants safe will instead shift to a model of "self-policing" by the corporations that profit from nuclear power.
"As it embarks on a reorganization to fulfill executive orders from President Donald Trump, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing to dramatically reduce its inspection hours for existing nuclear power plants, cutting back on the amount of time independent inspectors look for plants’ security procedures, radiation protection for staff, maintenance and safety," CNN said.
Trump hopes to usher in a new era of nuclear power, but staffing cuts to the NRC, along with Trump's executive orders, are a concern for those who focus on American safety.
NRC commission chair Allison MacFarlane called it "an issue of national security," recalling that Japan’s Fukushima nuclear meltdown came after "years of collusion" between the corporations and the government. They too did "self-inspections" that didn't notice serious safety problems.
“If there is political influence on the regulator and the regulator doesn’t regulate properly, the entire country is at risk,” MacFarlane said when speaking to CNN.
Among the things inspectors do is examine whether nuclear power plants can withstand severe weather. So, if a power plant is hit with a tornado or hurricane, there won't be a meltdown and explosion spewing nuclear material to the Americans in the vicinity. Such was the case with Fukushima, which was damaged by an earthquake, but then ultimately a tsunami that was so large that it overtook the seawall, flooding the plant, the cooling systems and the turbines.
The regulators also ensure that all equipment is running smoothly, so that, in the event of an emergency, "valves close, water pumps are working, and electrical equipment can supply power." Typically, there are two resident inspectors from the NRC at each power plant.
The report explained that the safety track record for NRC's inspectors is impressive.
“We have found stuff the plants did not find,” said one NRC staffer when speaking to CNN. The person called some of their catches “significant safety findings.”
“No one’s going to catch everything, and we’re there as the independent oversight, auditing and quality check,” the staffer added.
Trump has a goal of cutting NRC inspections by 40 percent.
"Emergency preparedness inspection hours are being recommended to be cut back the most — by 56 percent," the report said. "Other types of inspections, including radiation protection inspection hours, are being proposed to be cut back by 38 percent; security procedure inspection hours cut back by 48 percent, and nuclear reactor safety inspection procedure hours cut by 30 percent."
The acting director of the NRC downplayed the dangers, however.
It might be “the most significant changes we’ve seen in the last 25 years,” but the inspections “don’t yield a lot of safety benefit," claimed Jeremy Groom.