—NRC finds DOE Yucca Mountain data inadequate “” Technical information in key Department of Energy documents is inadequate and could stall licensing of the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission warned in a new report. NRC is charged with evaluating DOE's permit application for the high-level radioactive waste repository and has consistently raised questions over the adequacy of technical information provided by the department. In its April 13 report, NRC noted improvements over past DOE technical information but still warned that "if DOE continues to use their existing policies, procedures, methods, and practices at the same level of implementation and rigor, the license application may not contain information sufficient to support the technical positions in the application." As a result, the report says, NRC may need to request large volumes of additional information, delaying the processing of a construction application for the repository beyond the three to four years set in law. The report is available at http://www.nrc.gov/waste/hlw-disposal/ reg-initiatives/resolve-key-tech-issues.html. /articles/82/i16/NRC-finds-DOE-Yucca-Mountain.html 20040419 Concentrates 82 16 /magazine/82/8216.html NRC finds DOE Yucca Mountain data inadequate con govpol environment NRC finds DOE Yucca Mountain data inadequate Chemical & Engineering News NRC finds DOE Yucca Mountain data inadequate NRC Finds DOE Yucca Mountain Data Inadequate
April 19, 2004
—NRC Recommends Air Pollution Policy Revamp “” EPA should regulate air pollutants by groups instead of controlling them one at a time, the National Research Council says. Multipollutant strategies could be more protective and cost-effective, NRC concludes in a report recommending changes to the current Clean Air Act system. NRC suggests regulating clusters of pollutants emitted by similar sources that can be controlled with related technologies. For example, a single rule might target ozone, particulate matter, and several hazardous air pollutants from industrial smokestacks and diesel engines. Another grouping might include contaminants that have a similar impact on health, ecosystems, visibility, or climate change. NRC also says Congress should give EPA more authority to address pollution that blows from states where it is emitted into other states struggling to improve air quality. EPA needs to improve the tracking of transported pollution and to develop multistate strategies for addressing it. And, to minimize the amount of air pollution that drifts to and from the U.S., the nation needs to forge international collaborations.
by Cheryl Hogue | February 09, 2004
—Expand Climate Research, NRC Urges “” The U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) needs to turn its attention to the impacts of climate change and to do more social science research on human actions and behavior as the climate changes, according to a National Research Council (NRC) report. To do this, an improved climate-observing system needs to be developed with the capability to forecast regional and long-term vulnerabilities.
by David J. Hanson | March 02, 2009
—NRC Report Calls For Emissions Cuts “” The U.S. urgently needs to trim its greenhouse gas emissions, a report from the National Research Council says. It suggests that policymakers limit the nation’s emissions to between 170 billion and 200 billion tons of CO2 from 2012 to 2050, averaging 4 billion to 5 billion tons per year.
by Cheryl Hogue | May 24, 2010
—NRC urges more tritium monitoring “” Better monitoring was among 26 recommendations urged by a Nuclear Regulatory Commission task force that examined leaks of radioactive tritium into soil and groundwater at nuclear power plants. The task force was formed last March following discovery of tritium leaks at several Illinois and New York power plants.
October 09, 2006
—NRC Nominees Head For Senate Approval “” The prospective new chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was a step away from being confirmed by the Senate at C&EN’s press time. On June 21, the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works approved the nomination of Allison M. Macfarlane to head the nuclear safety agency.
by Glenn Hess | July 02, 2012
—NRC Blasts Risk Assessment Guide “” The National Research Council says the White House should scrap its controversial draft guidelines for risk assessment within the federal government. The White House Office of Management & Budget described the draft guidelines as "clear, minimum standards for the scientific quality of federal agency risk assessments" when it released them in January 2006 (C&EN, Jan. 16, 2006, page 6).
January 15, 2007
—NRC Backs Storage Of Fuel In Pools “” In a divided vote, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week endorsed continued storage of radioactive spent fuel in cooling pools next to reactor sites. The vote supports a staff recommendation that spent-fuel assemblies are safe as they are now—stored in swimming-pool-like structures at operating and shuttered power plants.
by Jeff Johnson | June 02, 2014
—NRC Revises Manual On Scientific Evidence “” The National Research Council (NRC) released the third edition of its “Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence,” a guide to aid judges as they confront scientific evidence at trials. This version replaces an edition published in 2000. Developed in collaboration with the Federal Judicial Center, the manual includes new chapters on neuroscience, mental health, and forensic science. The reference work, NRC emphasizes, is meant to assist judges with the management of cases involving complex scientific and technical evidence, not to instruct them on what evidence should be admissible. Since the 1993 Supreme Court case Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, judges have had the task of determining whether expert testimony is based on sound scientific reasoning and methodology.
by William G. Schulz | October 03, 2011
—NRC Urges Minimal Beryllium Exposure “” Worker exposure to beryllium should be kept at the “lowest feasible level” and should be closely monitored, says a new report from the National Research Council. After a review of the scientific literature, an NRC panel found the level of uncertainty in health-related research was so great that a safe level of beryllium exposure could not be determined.
August 18, 2008