—NRC Resumes Licensing After Revising Waste-Storage Rules “” The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will resume issuing licenses for new atomic reactors and allowing existing plants to extend operations after addressing deficiencies in its waste rules. The commission last week approved a final rule addressing the environmental effects of storing spent nuclear fuel at a plant site.
by Glenn Hess | September 01, 2014
—NRC Finds Savings In Energy Efficiency “” Full deployment of energy-efficiency technologies in U.S. buildings alone could eliminate the need to construct new electricity-generating plants through 2030, according to a report by the National Research Council. Energy efficiency could reduce projected U.S. energy use by 17 to 20% by 2020 and 25 to 31% by 2030, as well as cut carbon dioxide emissions, says the report, "Real Prospects for Energy Efficiency in the U.S." This dispatch is the last in a series of NRC energy reports. Energy-related activities in buildings draw 70% of U.S. electricity, the report notes, and replacing inefficient appliances could cut this consumption by 30%. In manufacturing, the report says, deployment of industrial efficiencies could lead to energy savings of 14 to 22% by 2020, particularly in energy-intensive sectors, such as chemicals, refining, pulp and paper, steel, and cement.
by Jeff Johnson | December 14, 2009
Sixty-two of the current 100 operating U.S. nuclear power plants are more than 30 years old, according to NRC. In the U.S., 29 reactors are in various stages of decommissioning, according to NRC. Of these, 11 are considered completely decommissioned, said Michael F. Weber, NRC deputy executive director, at the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee hearing.
by Jeff Johnson | June 02, 2014
Macfarlane is the White House choice for NRC chair” This month, the Senate will consider the nominations of two women to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. One is a current commissioner, Kristine L. Svinicki, renominated to a second five-year term; the other is Allison M. Macfarlane, recently nominated as NRC chair to fill the remaining year left in the term of Gregory B.
by Jeff Johnson | June 11, 2012
—Jaczko Heads For The Exit “Government: Embattled NRC chairman says he is stepping down” After a contentious three years as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Gregory B. Jaczko announced last week that he is leaving before his term expires in June 2013. His resignation, he added, is contingent upon Senate confirmation of a successor.
by Jeff Johnson | May 25, 2012
—NRC Calls For Reform To State Research Aid “” A $500 million federal program designed to improve postsecondary student research opportunities in states with inadequate science infrastructure must be reformed to make the program more fair, according to a National Research Council report. The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) and related programs have helped many states improve their research competitiveness.
by Andrea Widener | November 25, 2013
—NRC blasts 'Flawed' guidelines “Report recommends that the White House withdraw its federal risk assessment policy” In an unusual and sustained castigation, the National Research Council minces no words in a report issued earlier this month. NRC, an arm of the National Academies, says the Bush Administration's draft guidelines for risk assessment across the federal government are "fundamentally flawed" and should be scrapped.
by Cheryl Hogue | January 29, 2007
—Bayh-Dole Doing Its Job, NRC Says “” A National Research Council study on the changes created at universities by the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act finds that the law is generally working well. The law permits universities to retain intellectual property rights to inventions that are the result of federally funded research.
by David J. Hanson | October 11, 2010
—NRC reports on U.S. patent system “” Although a major overhaul is not required, measures should be taken to increase the flexibility, openness, and reliability of the U.S. patent system, concludes a report released on April 19 by the National Research Council of the National Academies. The report, titled "A Patent System for the 21st Century," makes seven recommendations to reach those goals, including providing additional resources for the Patent & Trademark Office (PTO), considering congressional legislation to create an "open review procedure" for issued patents, and encouraging harmonization with the European and Japanese patent systems by reconciling differences among the systems.
April 26, 2004