by Kerry L. Thomas

Created on: November 04, 2008

One way to improve the government oversight of the nuclear power industry would be for people to take advantage of the right and ability to participate in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's rule-making process. Most public citizens may not know that they have access to the rule-making process and can provide input and comments on proposed regulations and existing issues.

Right now, the process is one sided as the nuclear power industry does take advantage of this process and thus they have a heavy voice in what regulations are created and the actions taken. If average citizens became involved in the rule-making process the results would dilute the current industry's monopoly on lobbying for regulations that may not always be favorable for the public at large.

The framework needed for public
involvement is already in place, but sadly there is not a widespread use of the process. Better oversight would be obtained if the public injected their interests and desires into the regulatory process. You need not be a nuclear engineer to offer your input. The average citizen can gain insight into the process and then offer their input based on what they believe is the best course of action.

Letting the nuclear power industry have an unfair advantage in setting the regulations they will operate by is not in the best interest of the general public. Of course if there is no opposing views and or ideas then the NRC will likely act on what they have. In order to balance the system more people need to get involved in the rule-making process.

People that have an interest in nuclear safety and no profit interests in the operation of the industry will like be more stringent with their safety ideas and demand more in the way of safeguards. The nuclear power industry will most likely try to ride the fence on safety issues and try to get by with cheaper and less stringent safety regulations. As you can see there is a real need for public involvement in the rule-making process and this is absolutely essential to providing better government oversight to the nuclear power industry.

Our nuclear power industries should be governed by the will of the people and not via a one sided rule-making process. The oversight of this industry has already suffered for years due to a lack of public participation. As I stated earlier, most people may not even be aware that they have the ability to get involved. My advice is to research the NRC's
rule-making process and take action to participate and get your voice heard. People can make a difference if they know there is an avenue to do so.

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