Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is accusing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of ignoring the concerns of whistle-blowers in Texas, but current and former NRC workers say the situation inside the agency is much more complicated than what the congressman suggests.

In a letter this week to NRC Chairwoman Allison Macfarlane, Markey, an outspoken nuclear skeptic, says Macfarlane has failed to address anonymous tips describing a toxic work environment in the agency's Region IV office in Arlington, Texas.

The congressman received anonymous NRC staff letters last year alleging that Troy Pruett, a director in that office, was berating employees and dismissing the staff's safety concerns surrounding a flooded nuclear plant in Nebraska (E&ENews PM, Oct. 2, 2012).

Pruett later shot back that Markey had failed to confirm the validity of the letters and asked the House Ethics Committee to "reprimand" the congressman for damaging his reputation as a regulator focused on nuclear safety (E&ENews PM, May 17, 2012).

Instead of probing the employee concerns, Markey says, NRC's inspector general looking into the case is trying to cast Pruett as a vigorous safety defender.

"These people have informed me that individuals who agree to do Region IV management's bidding on safety-related matters are promoted, while those who question management are retaliated against," Markey wrote. "The commission apparently does not care whether any independent examination of safety culture at Region IV ever takes place."

The congressman also cited a survey the agency released in November that found 49 percent of the nearly 3,000 NRC staff interviewed felt the commission's procedures for dealing with differences of professional opinions were effective.

NRC staff can follow standing procedures to raise specific concerns and offer differing professional opinions or raise issues with the inspector general, said Scott Burnell, a spokesman for the agency.

But one senior NRC manager who requested anonymity said the situation inside the commission is much more complicated.

NRC staff have been "on the ropes" for two years, facing pay freezes and increased obstacles in obtaining bonuses and pay raises, which has dampened morale and increased complaints, the manager said.

It is also unclear whether Markey is flagging serious safety issues or ruffling feathers for political reasons, the manager said, and just how big an impact controversial former NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko's resignation last year has had on NRC staff.

Markey has been critical of NRC and the agency's inspector general over treatment of his former staffer, Jaczko, who stepped down last year amid mounting criticism from his fellow commissioners and Republicans in Congress. Two Republican and two Democratic commissioners on NRC complained to the White House that Jaczko berated employees, withheld information and bullied staff, sparking a congressional investigation (E&ENews PM, July 5, 2012).

"The commissioners doing what they did was unprecedented and courageous on their part -- the White House threw them under the bus," the manager said. "You have a staff of several thousand people who see commissioners pushing back, and maybe it emboldens them."

Eben Burnham-Snyder, a spokesman for Markey, said the congressman has a long history of working on nuclear issues and is only interested in ensuring that safety concerns are carefully examined.

Another complicating factor is the sheer technicality of debates over nuclear technology.

Charley Haughney, who retired as a nuclear safety expert at NRC in 2000, said the inspector general may have a difficult time stepping into disputes because the work that staff conducts is often extremely complicated. At that point, arguments are more akin to "two brain surgeons arguing over a procedure," he said.

"If they're deep into a technical issue, it's not likely that the IG staff would have someone that could delve into that issue quickly or maybe even at all," Haughney said. "If you don't do that for a living, it's pretty hard to get into a reasonable debate about a particular issue."

If a worker reaches out to Congress and the issue escapes the confines of NRC's procedures, the situation can be exaggerated or take on a life of its own, the manager said. Managers want to hear employee concerns but don't always find the safety issues to be pressing or find alternative ways to deal with the issue, he said.

"You can hopefully have an environment where you air these concerns and management is looking at them seriously, but may not at the end of the day decide that you're right," the manager said.