Nearly 30 former Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff members and one ex-chair criticized President Donald Trump’s firing of Commissioner Christopher Hanson in a Tuesday letter.
On June 13 Trump fired Hanson from his position on the Commission in a move that shook up the nuclear industry. The Tuesday letter was written to the agency’s four remaining commissioners. Copies were also sent to several members of Congress and nuclear industry executives.
The NRC did not respond to Exchange Monitor’s request for a comment.
Along with plenty of senior staff members, Stephen Burns, who chaired the NRC from January 2015 to January 2017, signed onto the letter. Prior to serving on the Commission, Burns worked on NRC staff as an attorney, deputy general counsel, general counsel and executive assistant.
The former staffers criticized Trump’s move to remove Hanson, saying it was a politically-driven decision.
“This action endangers the independence of the NRC as it raises the specter of political considerations carrying greater weight than public health and safety,” they wrote.
After Hanson’s removal, the group of former staffers advised the Commission to remain apolitical and independent in the coming days.
While the letter itself did not call upon the current commission to take any actual actions, it urged commissioners to embrace the highest traditional standards.
The letter cited advice to NRC staffers in 2006 from now-deceased former NRC Commissioner Edward McGaffigan. “‘Honor’ often involves telling people, perhaps colleagues, perhaps supervisors, what they do not want to hear,” McGaffigan said, according to the letter. McGaffigan died of cancer in 2007.
Hanson’s firing came on the heels of nuclear executive orders by the Trump White House, including one former staffers fear could weaken NRC independence.
On May 23, Trump issued various nuclear-related executive actions designed to streamline advanced technology and bolster the nuclear supply chain. Among the executive actions, Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would overhaul NRC within 18 months.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said Trump is “committed to modernizing nuclear regulations, streamlining regulatory barriers, and reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission while prioritizing safety and resilience,” according to a report by Reuters.
The former staffers said that the credibility of the nuclear industry hinges on having an objective regulator in place.
“Succumbing to politics and surrendering NRC’s independence can only reduce the effectiveness of nuclear regulation in the United States as well as around the world, increasing the likelihood of a costly accident,” the former NRC staffers wrote.
