NRC CHAIRMAN SAYS SUBSTANTIAL WORK AHEAD 

FOR COMMISSION IN THE COMING YEAR

 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko said Tuesday the agency 

must “provide a steady hand” in managing existing programs and “also must keep our eyes fixed 

on the horizon” to deal with the challenges the agency is certain to face. 

Speaking at the 22nd Annual Regulatory Information Conference in Rockville, Md., 

Jaczko took a look at “where we stand today as an agency and my vision for the NRC over the 

coming year ... using the lens of our key regulatory tools – rulemaking, licensing and oversight.” 

“Our mission is comprehensive, but the way in which we meet our mandate is not static. For 

all the changes to our regulatory landscape over the last few years – the increased focus on 

security after 9/11, the safety changes after Davis Besse, the wave of license renewal and new 

reactor applications – our work likely will only become more varied and vital in the coming 

years,” said Jaczko, 

“We must provide a steady hand – to continue doing what we’ve always done well, and to 

prepare for new and emerging challenges. And we also must keep our eyes fixed on the horizon 

– to appreciate where we are going, to recognize the issues that will take on added importance in 

the coming years, and to know what we need to do now in order to prepare for those challenges,” 

he added. 

Jaczko praised Dr. Dale Klein, a commissioner and chairman of the NRC from 2006-

2009, for his service to the NRC and nation. Klein will leave the commission upon the swearing 

in of a successor. Three new commission nominees are now before the full Senate. And he 

thanked Commissioner Kristine Svinicki for her work on, among other things, the cyber security 

rule. 

Jaczko said he wanted to “address an ‘elephant in the room’ – the update to the Waste 

Confidence Rule.” It is important, he said, “that we stay focused on our regulatory responsibility 

– to ensure that spent fuel is safely and securely managed.” The NRC staff has told the 

commission that spent fuel in any reactor can be safely stored without environmental impact for 

50 to 60 years beyond a reactor’s life of operation. Jaczko said he is looking forward to working 

NRC NEWS

U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

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No. 10-046 March 9, 2010
with his colleagues. “We need a rule that will stand the test of time... We should leave the 

ultimate strategy of disposal to organizations like the Blue Ribbon Commission whose job it is to 

examine the alternatives and make the recommendations on permanent disposal. 

Looking at licensing reviews, Jaczko said that a necessary component for success “is for 

applicants to get designs completed as early as possible and to provide high quality information 

in their applications.” He noted the agency has a strong track record of conducting efficient, 

predictable licensing reviews while always staying focused on its public safety mission. 

Jaczko also touched on the issues of sump clogging, a matter that has “been around for 

way too long with existing reactors, and has now even cropped up as a potential problem in 

certain new reactor designs.” And he mentioned reactor license amendment requests for adopting 

NFPA 805 – a risk-based method for calculating fire threats. This is an area, he said, “where we 

have had difficulty making clear, tangible progress.” He said the first amendment should be 

approved this year and once a pilot program is complete and the process has been proven, “I 

would encourage licensees not to wait to submit their amendment applications. I challenge all 

licensees to adopt NFPA 805,” he said. 

 “NFPA is the lighthouse to guide us forward in this area. We have grappled with this 

matter for 35 years since the Browns Ferry Fire... We need to continue pressing ahead on this 

issue. And for one simple reason that we have long recognized – fire poses a significant threat to 

plant safety,” he added. 

 The Chairman also said that however important good rules are, “what ultimately defines a 

regulator is its ability to ensure that its requirements are being followed. We stand watch, but the 

NRC can’t be everywhere and can’t inspect everything. That is why we must always maintain an 

effective oversight program. He said the Reactor Oversight Program has served the agency well, 

but the agency is looking at potential improvements. 

 Touching on the issue of buried piping and tritium leaks, Jaczko said that “we have seen 

... the public concern that this issue can raise. The leaks to this point have been below regulatory 

limits and have been of low significance to public health and safety.” He said the agency is 

working with domestic and international standards organizations to see if more can be done. 

 “Just as our mission calls for us to clearly communicate to the public about the relatively 

low significance of these events,” he said about tritium leaks and buried piping, “ it is also 

imperative that we clearly communicate to the licensees that we are not going to attempt to 

explain away performance that is less than stellar. Licensees have a responsibility to 

communicate for themselves and to make their own efforts to earn and keep the trust of the 

public in the communities where they are located.” 

 In a closing comment, Jaczko noted the agency’s participation in the President’s Open 

Government Directive. The NRC, he said, has a historic organizational commitment to openness 

and transparency. 

 
“Consistent with that approach, I hope over the next few months the Commission will 

begin to meet more frequently in public to deliberate on matters under consideration. I believe 

that this kind of openness and transparency will build public confidence in the agency by 

highlighting our strengths: the hard work and dedication of the staff, and the diligence of the 

Commission,” he said. 

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