Donald Trump’s assault on US nuclear watchdog raises safety concerns

{"text":[[{"start":10.89,"text":"Donald Trump’s attack on the independence of the US nuclear safety watchdog has accelerated a severe “brain drain” at the agency, raising the risks of future accidents, former officials have warned."}],[{"start":26.54,"text":"Almost 200 people have left the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission since the president’s inauguration in January, and the pace of executive departures shows little sign of slowing with the resignation of the agency’s director of nuclear security and its general counsel.  "}],[{"start":46.84,"text":"Nearly half of the agency’s 28-strong senior leadership team has been installed in an “acting” capacity, and only three of five NRC commissioner roles are occupied. Trump sacked commissioner Christopher Hanson in June and Annie Caputo resigned unexpectedly last month."}],[{"start":67.87,"text":"“It is an unprecedented situation with some senior leaders having been forced out and many others leaving for early retirement or worse, resignation,” Scott Morris, the former NRC deputy executive director of operations who retired in May, said in an interview."}],[{"start":87.62,"text":"“This is really concerning for the staff and is one of the factors causing many key staff and leaders to leave the agency they love . . . creating a huge brain drain of talent,” he added."}],[{"start":100.60000000000001,"text":"Morris said any move to replace experienced nuclear safety professionals with politically motivated individuals would be a “dangerous game” that could result in problems being discovered years in the future. Almost two dozen new reactors are at present under development."}],[{"start":123.20000000000002,"text":"Several former NRC staff and commissioners told the Financial Times that the exodus began with a surge in private sector job opportunities due to the nuclear energy boom. But it accelerated drastically following the Trump administration’s attacks on the agency’s independence, they said."}],[{"start":145.53000000000003,"text":"Since taking office Trump has moved to assert presidential control over independent regulatory agencies, which were set up by Congress in part to shield them from executive interference."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

NRC suffers ‘brain drain’ of senior leaders

Name	Former NRC position	Exit
Craig Erlanger	Director of nuclear security and incident response	Resigned in August
Brooke Poole Clark	General counsel	Resigned in August
Annie Caputo	Commissioner	Announced resignation in July
Mirela Gavrilas	Executive director of operations	Retired in June, joined Elementl Power in July
Christopher Hanson	Commissioner	Fired in June
Scott Morris	Deputy executive director of operations	Retired in May
Robert Lewis	Deputy executive director of operations	Retired in June
A partial list of senior leaders who have left the NRC since January

"}],[{"start":160.71000000000004,"text":"In February he signed an order directing “so-called” independent agencies to submit all proposed and final significant regulatory actions for review. He has fired senior officials at multiple agencies, including the NRC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board."}],[{"start":184.01000000000005,"text":"Earlier this week, Trump said he wanted to fire top Federal Reserve official, Lisa Cook, in a move that has raised fears that he is trying to demolish the independence of the world’s most important central bank."}],[{"start":199.11000000000004,"text":"The president claims the NRC suffers from a culture of “risk aversion” that has slowed the rollout of nuclear technologies. In May he directed a fundamental restructuring of the agency in consultation with a team from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge)."}],[{"start":221.11000000000004,"text":"Trump has directed the NRC to set fixed deadlines for evaluating and approving licences, conduct a full review of its regulations and reconsider radiation safety limits."}],[{"start":234.25000000000006,"text":"Allison Macfarlane, who served as NRC chair from 2012 to 2014, said Trump’s actions at the NRC — when there were so many new entrants to the industry — raised safety risks."}],[{"start":251.18000000000006,"text":"“These are tech bros, and they are using a start-up model, move quickly and break things. And that doesn’t work in nuclear,” she said. “A lot of these folks want to sell their reactors overseas, but who is going to trust the NRC anymore?”"}],[{"start":269.62000000000006,"text":"An NRC spokesperson said experienced, technically qualified managers were appropriately performing roles as acting office directors and related positions. “The NRC is aligned with our inter-agency partners in accelerating progress while upholding the highest standards of public health, safety, and environmental protection,” he said."}],[{"start":293.86000000000007,"text":"Some industry participants, such as Oklo, a small modular reactor developer, have welcomed the administration’s reform efforts. “The biggest challenge isn’t physics; it’s policy inertia,” said Jacob DeWitte, Oklo’s chief executive."}],[{"start":312.5400000000001,"text":"Oklo was refused a licence by the NRC in 2022 due to “significant information gaps” in its application and is reapplying."}],[{"start":323.5900000000001,"text":"But many executives are concerned the retreat from the agency could delay the nuclear renaissance."}],[{"start":330.93000000000006,"text":"“They are under an enormous amount of pressure, they’re losing people to private industry, [and] then more is being asked of them,” said James Walker, chief executive at Nano Nuclear Energy, a developer of small modular reactors. “There does need to be some sort of big investment . . . so they can grow commensurately with private industry taking off.”"}],[{"start":355.77000000000004,"text":"Democrats warn that Trump’s “hostile takeover” of the NRC jeopardises nuclear safety and years of bipartisan progress to develop nuclear energy.  "}],[{"start":368.91,"text":"“Hollowing out the agency will make us ill-equipped to usher in a nuclear renaissance and undermine our national safety and security, our economic growth, and our global leadership in the nuclear industry,” Sheldon Whitehouse, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate environment and public works committee, told the FT."}],[{"start":391.95000000000005,"text":"Last week three members of the House energy and commerce committee wrote to Chris Wright, US energy secretary, asking him to clarify whether a Doge representative had told the agency to act as a “rubber stamp” to the department’s approval of new reactor licences."}],[{"start":411.93000000000006,"text":"A Department of Energy spokesperson said “unlocking nuclear energy” was critical to fuelling the artificial intelligence race and the administration was working with the NRC to return focus to the core mission of protecting human health and safety."}],[{"start":440.46000000000004,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftmailbox.cn/album/a_1756424871_2110.mp3"}