Gregory Jaczko

Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Gregory Jaczko listens to his introduction before he delivers remarks at the Regulatory Information Conference on March 13, 2012 in Rockville, Maryland.The long-expected federal decision giving SCANA a license to build two new nuclear reactors in South Carolina came along with news that project has already encountered delays and cost overruns.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the license for SCANA’s Summer station near Columbia, SC on Friday, seven weeks after approving a similar license for Southern Company’s Vogtle station near August, Georgia. The vote was again 4-1, with Chairman Gregory Jaczko again dissenting over the commission’s decision not to attach a specific provision requiring compliance with future post-Fukushima requirements. Keep reading →

Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Gregory Jaczko delivers remarks at the Regulatory Information Conference on March 13, 2012 in Rockville, Maryland.

US nuclear safety goals are insufficient, and don’t address effects like those seen after the Fukushima disaster in Japan, the head of the US nuclear regulator says. Keep reading →


US nuclear plant operations, while still very good, are trending in the wrong direction, says Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, and complacency from years of safe operations, combined with overload from backlogged and new safety requirements, could mean trouble ahead in 2012.

Speaking to nuclear CEOs at their annual Institute of Nuclear Power Operations meeting in November, Jaczko fingered what he fears are declining performance trends. Keep reading →