Trump tightens control of independent agency overseeing nuclear safety
Source: NPR
The Trump administration has tightened its control over the independent agency responsible for overseeing America's nuclear reactors, and it is considering an executive order that could further erode its autonomy, two U.S. officials who declined to speak publicly because they feared retribution told NPR.
Going forward, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) must send new rules regarding reactor safety to the White House, where they will be reviewed and possibly edited. That is a radical departure for the watchdog agency, which historically has been among the most independent in the government. The new procedures for White House review have been in the works for months, but they were just recently finalized and are now in full effect.
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The new review is a major change, but it is the draft executive order that promises a radical overhaul of the agency. According to the order, the NRC would look at repealing the Linear No Threshold standard for radiation safety. That standard presumes that radiation exposure can cause harm, even at levels where the harm is not easily detectable through scientific study. It also calls on the agency to review its standard requiring worker exposure be kept "as low as reasonably achievable."
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The order would also call on the NRC to undergo a restructuring to speed licensing of new reactors. Along with that reorganization, the NRC would "undertake reductions in force."
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Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/09/nx-s1-5392382/trump-nuclear-regulatory-commission-watchdog-safety-radiation
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Turnip ***REALLY*** wanted to sell nuclear reactors to Saudi Arabia, who would never, ever divert any of that fissionable material to other purposes, or allow it to happen.
