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90% of Nuclear Regulators Sent Home Due To Shutdown

Posted by Soulskill on from the homer-simpson-asked-to-come-in-for-overtime dept.

An anonymous reader writes "More than 90% of nuclear regulators are being sent home due to the Federal Government shutdown, as the agency announced today that it was out of funds. Without Congressional appropriations, the nuclear watchdog closes its doors for what appears to be the first time in U.S. history. CNN reports that while a skeleton crew remains to monitor the nation's 100 nuclear reactors, regulatory efforts to prevent a Fukushima-like incident in the United States have ceased."

3 of 358 comments (clear)

  1. Unsafe Under 30 Days? by ScottCooperDotNet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If your nuclear systems become unsafe in under 30 days, are they really safe at all?

    Some people are confused about why the lapse of appropriations is affecting the NRC when we collect fees for 90 percent of our budget. The bottom line is this: the NRC is not funded directly by the fees we collect. Fees collected by the NRC must be deposited in the U.S. Treasury, and the Congress provides us an appropriation.

    Sounds like the NRC should be funded solely by fees paid by the companies they regulate.

  2. Re:What could possibly go wrong? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Everyone in the lapdog press is running around crying Oh No'es but NOTHING bad is happening.

    Well, nothing bad other than millions of Americans suddenly becoming essentially unemployed, even if temporarily, for which I can see no possible negative effect. /sarc

    Pay them to build a bridge to nowhere. Then they'll be employed, and things will be just like they were before.

    Yea, ok... OR, and stick with me here: we could pay them to fix and/or replace our aging infrastructure; that way, they'll be employed, and things will be better than they were before!

    Oh, wait, this is American bureaucracy we're talking about - making things better hasn't been on the table for a long, long time.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  3. Re:What could possibly go wrong? by Smauler · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Home schoolers generally have parents who care about them (otherwise they wouldn't be home schooled). Public schools are for everyone, including those whose parents don't give a shit. Private schools are reserved for those who have money (whether they give a shit or not).

    Do you see the problem with direct comparisons here?