"The NRC and Nuclear Power Plant Safety in 2010: A Brighter Spotlight Needed"

David Lochbaum (pictured at left, alongside one of his quotes), director of the Nuclear Safety Project in the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security Program, unveiled this report on March 11 at a UCS media event on Capitol Hill -- ironically, the very day the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe began. UCS also preparded an overview, executive summary, and media release. The report documents 14 "near misses" in 2010, having to do with operating reactor and radioactive waste storage safety risks, as well as security risks shrouded in secrecy. Delving deeper into the "near misses" of 2010, Lochbaum focuses in on three utter failures by NRC to live up to its mandate to protect public health and safety. But he also cites three instances where NRC did its job -- and urges those to serve as the model for NRC to live up to its mission in 2011. Lochbaum concluded his executive summary by stating: "That plant owners could have avoided nearly all 14 near-misses in 2010 had they corrected known deficiencies in a timely manner suggests that our luck at nuclear roulette may someday run out." Certainly, that has proven to be the case at Fukushima Dai-Ichi in Japan.