NRC Chairman Jaczko pushed for safety first at Bellefonte "zombie reactors" in Alabama

The Chattanooga Times Free Press has published a comprehensive article about U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Greg Jaczko's "safety first" no vote on the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) bid to "resurrect" two "zombie" reactors, abandoned decades ago, at Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Hollywood, Alabama. Jackzo defended his no vote by writing:

“Although records may remain, the NRC can no longer be assured of the quality of the equipment since the [quality assurance] program was halted. The potential that undocumented work activities, introduction of unapproved chemicals, corrosion and other unknown degradation that may have occurred calls into question the integrity and reliability of safety-related structures, systems and components...We set the bar basically on the ground, and now TVA is asking the NRC to lift them over it...By requesting reinstatement, TVA is asking the commission to allow licensees to choose when they want to comply with the rules and when they do not; and is asking the NRC to provide TVA regulatory stability while sacrificing it for others.”

Jaczko "went a step further, calling for a new environmental impact statement and new public hearings."

In fact, nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen documented that TVA had actually "cannibalized" Bellefonte, removing systems, structures, and components for use at other TVA nuclear power plants over the years and decades since Bellefonte's abandonment.

The article also reported:

Garry Morgan, of Scottsboro, Ala., lives four miles from Bellefonte Nuclear Plant site, and he believes Jaczko — the lone NRC vote against reinstating Bellefonte’s construction permits — is under fire because he wants tougher nuclear regulation.

“This is a battle for control of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission originating from the nuclear industry utilizing Republican Party politicians,” said Morgan, a retired U.S. Army nuclear biological and chemical warfare protection officer who has become active in the anti-nuclear movement.

“Bottom line, the NRC which is supposed to be our ‘watchdog’ ensuring the nuclear industry conducts their operations safely has been compromised due to the nuclear industry’s financial influence over politicians attempting to control the NRC,” he said. “It wasn’t so long ago a Republican senator threatened to defund the NRC for doing their job.”