The Nuclear Regulatory Commission refused a Natural Resources Defense Council request for public hearings on what the nation should do to keep its nuclear power plants from suffering meltdowns Sept. 14. Instead, regulators channeled public comments into their ongoing engineer-and industry-oriented Japan Task Force rulemaking (see story page 9). The environmental group’s request to allow a broader venue for reactions to the commission’s direction using “lessons learned” from the Fukushima Daichii meltdowns was published in the Federal Register. NRDC requested the commission to amend its regulations to “enhance” emergency preparedness for events such as earthquakes and loss of power to reactors. The commission stated its currently established process covers the non-profit’s concerns.
