Nuclear Info Kept From Congress and the Public

Thermite writes "On March 6, 2006 an accident occurred at Nuclear Fuel Services in Erwin, Tennessee. According to reports, almost 9 gallons of highly enriched uranium in solution spilled and nearly went into a chain reaction. Before the accident in 2004, the NRC and The Office of Naval Reactors had changed the terms of the company's license so that any correspondence with Nuclear Fuel Services would be marked 'official use only.' From the article: 'While reviewing the commission's public Web page in 2004, the Department of Energy's Office of Naval Reactors found what it considered protected information about Nuclear Fuel Service's work for the Navy. The commission responded by sealing every document related to Nuclear Fuel Services and BWX Technologies in Lynchburg, Va., the only two companies licensed by the agency to manufacture, possess and store highly enriched uranium.' The result was that the public and Congress were both left in the dark for 13 months regarding this accident and other issues at the facility."

Comments

Re:Nuclear power and Milton Friedmann dittoheads

[stoneymonster]

I would like to see estimates for the number of people killed per watt produced of nuclear power, vs. that of coal. I suspect coal will come out as the far more dangerous alternative historically (even adjusted for the late introduction of nuclear power as a source). Has anyone seen such a study? My suspicion is that dying from protracted respiratory disease is just not sexy enough to get people worked up like radiation poisoning.

Re:While I'm for oversight, what would Congress do

[E 99]

Agreed. When has Congress ever used an oversight hearing to do anything constructive? All they are interested in doing is turning important issues into political weaponry. I say the more is hidden from Congress the better. If the laws establishing the NRC need adjusting, let the executive branch bring it to their attention.

Jews!

[Anonymous Coward]

Are descendants from Israel...

Re:How do they keep a straight face

[Dr Caleb]

LOL. Nice troll attempt. As you so rightly point out, many here have the tools they need, and a part of geek training is Common Law and Tort Law.

Omitting the fact that a bridge is unsafe is against every professional organization out there, and it is a lie no matter the secrecy agreement or NDA you signed. Not saying anything at all about a very toxic spill is a lie by omission and malicious.

And learn the difference between, "your", "you're" and "y'arrh".