Two members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are resisting calls from the agency's chairman to fast-track the implementation of far-reaching safety recommendations, saying the commission needs more public input on the matter.

Republican Commissioner Kristine Svinicki and Democratic Commissioner William Magwood released their opinions yesterday on how they believe NRC should address a dozen safety recommendations from an internal task force that was assembled after Japan's nuclear crisis.

The task force -- a small group of NRC experts -- reviewed the accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex to pull lessons applicable to U.S. reactors. The group released a "near term" report last week that called for major changes in how NRC applies its regulations and requirements for plants to tackle rare and devastating earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural events (Greenwire, July 20). The panel is also scheduled to conduct a longer-term safety review.

NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko called on the commission this week to digest and prioritize the safety recommendations within three months and make any necessary changes within five years.

But Svinicki and Magwood in their votes seemed to reject the chairman's fast-tracked approach, calling for more public input and increased collaboration and participation of a larger number of NRC staff. Magwood said the task force did not have sufficient time to "give all issues the consideration they deserve" and pointed to the panel's failure to consult the medical community about the distribution of potassium iodide pills.

Magwood noted that the task force did not find an "imminent threat" from the country's 104 reactors, which he said gives the commission time to fully analyze and debate the recommendations through NRC processes without rushing forward. Magwood also dismissed the chairman's proposed time line, saying high-level NRC staff and the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards should formally review the report.

Svinicki agreed, saying that she could neither support nor deny such recommendations without NRC staff fully vetting the proposals. NRC staff should propose a time line for taking public comment and moving forward, identifying which safety changes should be made immediately, and include a method for comparing American and Japanese regulatory requirements, she said.

Eliot Brenner, a spokesman for NRC, said there has not been a final vote on the matter. Jaczko and two other commissioners have not yet revealed their votes.

But Republican Commissioner William Ostendorff hinted at a public meeting this week that he disagrees with the finding that NRC's regulatory structure is "broken" and called for broad input on the recommendations (Greenwire, July 20). On the other hand, Commissioner George Apostolakis>, a Democrat, indicated he would favor an aggressive approach but added that the time line would have to be adjusted accordingly.

Reaction on Capitol Hill

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, said Magwood and Svinicki are "abdicating" their responsibilities to implement the recommendations and that the agency does not need another "study to study the NRC staff's study."

"They want to direct the NRC staff to endlessly study the NRC staff's own report before they will even consider a single recommendation made by the very same NRC staff," he said in a statement yesterday.

Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, applauded the task force's work in a statement yesterday and urged the agency to talk to stakeholders and get public reaction.

Although the report offers a mixture of "common sense" proposals that should quickly be implemented and those that will take longer to vet, Carper called on the agency to stick to making decisions in the coming year.

"I will be very disappointed if we are six months or a year down the road and have not seen any actions from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on any of the recommendations," he said.

Click here to view Magwood's vote.

Click here to view Svinicki's vote.