Dear Editor,
Imagine a world with no stoplights, safety belts, speed limit enforcement, and no requirements for the auto industry. The death toll would be astronomical. That is the effect of what Senator Joe Manchin and some other Senators who are nuclear advocates want for the nuclear industry.
We have been down this road before. The NRC was established in 1974 after the accident at Three Mile Island because its predecessor was guilty of promoting the nuclear industry over public safety. My 25 year observation with NRC regulations and enforcement at the Indian Point nuclear reactor have convinced me that this agency is already a captive of the industry.
Manchin’s promise to block the reappointment of the last NRC Commissioner concerned about public safety — Jeff Baran or anyone else concerned with public safety is disgraceful.
“We’re just looking for people who understand that we have to have nuclear energy in the mix,” he said.
Public safety does not start with what is good for the industry. It starts with what is good for the millions of people who live near a nuclear power plant. Clever people solve problems. Smart people and smart regulators avoid them. We need a smart Nuclear Regulatory Agency that sticks to its original mission – protecting public safety, not industry profits.
Marilyn Elie
Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
Cortlandt Manor, NY
