As reported by Matt Wald of the New York Times, former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford
strikes again, with a most apt metaphor bringing a dose of reality to the
so-called Third Way/Idaho National Lab conference on nuclear power's future.
Unmentioned in the reporting, however, is the irony of U.S. Senators Voinovich
(R-OH) and Carper (D-DE) hosting the event. It was on Voinovich's watch that the
Davis-Besse atomic reactor near Toledo came within 3/16ths of an inch of a
meltdown; Carper's political power base in Wilmington could suffer 100,000 "peak
early fatalities," over 70,000 "peak early injuries," 40,000 "peak cancer
deaths," and over $300 billion in property damage if any one of the three
Salem/Hope Creek atomic reactors suffered a catastrophic radiation release,
according to NRC's 1982 CRAC-2 study ("Calculation of Reactor Accident
Consequences"). Also unreported was the irony that, as Obama administration
officials -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu, White House climate and energy czar
Carol Browner, NRC chairman Greg Jaczko -- rubbed shoulders with
NEI President Marvin Fertel, GE-Hitachi Board Chair Jack Fuller, etc.,
the nuclear power industry's army of lobbyists worked Capitol Hill to
attach a $7 billion nuclear loan guarantee onto the congressional lame duck
session Continuing Resolution to fund government operations. NRC's homepage
described the gathering as "28 nuclear leaders from government, industry and
finance -- focused on long term policy for nuclear energy," but offered no
explanation as to why its Chairman would attend an event seemingly largely
devoted to nuclear power's promotion -- NRC is not supposed to promote
nuclear power, but rather to regulate it in the interests of public health
and safety and environmental protection