The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is independent from the Biden administration’s energy goals, but that shouldn’t “be an impediment to innovation and deployment,” the agency’s chairman said at an industry summit this week.
The NRC’s regulatory independence is a critical element of ensuring public trust, Christopher Hanson said Tuesday during his opening remarks to the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s Advanced Reactor Summit.
As the Department of Energy explores the viability of advanced reactor technology, Hanson acknowledged his agency’s role as “a necessary element of deployment,” but said that the commission would work to build public faith in the technology rather than be a proponent.
“If the public can’t trust the NRC, we as regulators will struggle to be effective, and I believe it will also challenge the industry to make progress with its advanced reactor initiatives,” Hanson said. Transparency and clear communication about licensing processes are important to achieving this end, the chairman said.
Hanson hit some of these same notes in an interview with RadWaste Monitor earlier this month, stressing that the agency didn’t take its marching orders from the White House.
“Trust can be lost easily but trust is very difficult to rebuild,” Hanson said Tuesday. “So, I want to make sure the NRC continues to operate in a manner that instills public trust in responding to the advanced reactor community.”
