The new chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission today rejected the criticism that the agency has been captured by the nuclear power industry and insisted that the federal overseer is resolute when it comes to ensuring the safety of the country's 104 operating reactors.

Allison Macfarlane told reporters at the National Press Club today that although she has been the agency's chief for only a matter of weeks, she has "strong initial impressions" that the NRC staff has not been swayed by industry, and said "my perception so far is that's not the case at all."

Macfarlane's reassurance arrives in the wake of Gregory Jaczko's departure as chairman after a stormy three-year tenure. Jaczko stepped down earlier this year after his colleagues complained to the White House about his management style, but two lawmakers who were his former bosses said Jaczko was being isolated and punished for standing up against the industry (E&E Daily, Dec. 13, 2011).

Democratic Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, a former Jaczko boss, said four commissioners -- two Democrats and two Republicans -- were industry "lap dogs" who slowed the NRC's safety recommendations in the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis that erupted in March 2011. The island nation was slammed with a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

But Macfarlane, a Democrat who has vowed to bring collegiality to the NRC, said "the agency is carrying out its job, from what I can tell," but added that she has been chairwoman only since July 9. "From what I've seen so far, I am reassured the agency is ... protecting public health and safety and protecting the environment," she said.

Macfarlane today carefully sidestepped the political drama that plagued the NRC during Jaczko's tenure and said no one at the agency is discussing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) tirade against Democratic Commissioner William Magwood, whom he called a "treacherous, miserable liar" (E&ENews PM, July 30). Reid, another former Jaczko boss, accused Magwood of refusing to halt the abandoned nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev., which the Nevada congressional delegation strongly opposes.

"The agency had no reaction; in fact, I've heard nobody discuss it," Macfarlane said. "I think that speaks to the strength of the agency. ... We're not distracted by events outside."

Macfarlane instead turned the discussion toward her own plans for the NRC before her term expires in June 2013. She plans to foster a clearer dialogue between the NRC and the public and use her training as a geologist to delve into thorny issues such as the need for a national repository to store nuclear waste and the threat of earthquakes to reactors.

The Fukushima disaster shone a light on the need for a repository and the dangers surrounding the storage of waste in spent fuel pools, she said. There was no forewarning before the Japanese temblor struck, she noted. Geology is an "area of dynamic knowledge that changes with time," and the industry needs to focus on built-in safety margins at reactors to ward off danger from temblors and floods, she added.

"Geology matters," Macfarlane said. "If that wasn't one of the main lessons of Fukushima, I don't know what was."

Even so, she gave few details about what changes the public can expect from ongoing seismic reviews and changes that could be made to the country's currently stalled nuclear waste program.

Macfarlane also said she hasn't yet decided whether she will recuse herself from discussions and votes related to Yucca Mountain, which the Obama administration is trying to shutter. Other commissioners have recused themselves due to their past work on the project, and Macfarlane co-edited a book in 2006 about the Yucca site (E&ENews PM, July 24).

Macfarlane also served on the Blue Ribbon Commission that President Obama assembled to look at alternatives to Yucca Mountain. The chairwoman said during a recent interview with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that the White House is currently looking over a report the expert panel compiled.

But ultimately, Congress must decide how to move forward, she said.

"We don't promote the industry; we regulate the industry," she said. "We don't look for solutions to the nuclear waste problem; that's Congress' job."