Edwin Lyman

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Trump administration overhauls nuclear safety regulations

Vocal critic of regulatory changes

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

Notable Quotes

They're taking a wrecking ball to the system of nuclear safety and security regulation oversight that has kept the U.S. from having another Three Mile Island accident. I am absolutely worried about the safety of these reactors.

from Trump administration overhauls nuclear safety regulations · Updated May 27

This deeply troubling development confirms my worst fears about the dire state of nuclear power safety and security oversight under the Trump administration. The Energy Department has not only taken a sledgehammer to the basic principles that underlie effective nuclear regulation, but it has also done so in the shadows.

from Trump administration overhauls nuclear safety regulations · Updated May 27

They're allowing companies to write their own ticket as far as security goes, and I'm especially concerned because several of the new reactor designs use higher levels of enriched uranium in their cores, which could make them targets of theft.

from Trump administration overhauls nuclear safety regulations · Updated May 27