Christopher T. Hanson

Rule Changes

Fired by Trump in June 2025

The Energy Department published its secretly rewritten nuclear safety rules on February 26, about a month after NPR first reported their existence. By early March, Aalo Atomics had completed its Critical Test Reactor at Idaho National Laboratory — assembled in 40 days, the first new reactor built at INL in 50 years — and said it would go critical within weeks.

Updated May 27

Built World

Former NRC Chair overseeing digital transformation policy

The NRC approved something unprecedented in January 2026: replacing analog safety controls at an operating reactor with fully digital systems. Constellation's $167 million upgrade at Limerick replaces 1980s-era control rooms with digital command centers — the first time regulators have approved swapping multiple analog safety systems for a single digital platform with fuel rods still running.

Updated May 21