A colleague of mine commenting on the Centrus piece, writes Jack, I think this piece is wrong-headed. There is an odor of clever conspiracy and direct corruption that permeates the article. I disagree with the spin. The DOE nuclear stuff is no different than traditional military contracting (albeit by chance a bit worse and a bit better at times). Look at the LCS program for example.
Is nobody then expected to be accountable for the system that they operate in? That is a recipe for continuous poor performance with no mechanism for improvement.
I think it is clear that the incentives are misaligned, and I can’t fault Centrus for hiring their gov’t sugar daddy as he has the Rolodex full of DOE people. That doesn’t excuse the incompetence nor the lack of performance.
That's right. People value their own security first, that means their job. This builds in a reaction worse than a conspiracy because it is very hard to attack. because it has no centre.
Fair enough but when a research university (Abilene Christian Univ.) has to spend $1 billion on its NRC application and include 12,000 pages of submittals for a molten salt SMR then whether you chalk it up to conspiracy or banality or inertia it has to change. Fast.
I do fault top management at regulators such as NRC and EPA for lack of LEADERSHIP. Nuclear power provides the means to address climate change, lower energy costs, and end global energy poverty; the commissioners must know this. Congress did not write LNT and ALARA rules -- the NRC and EPA did! The commissioners signed off on the regulations. They have the power to change them; they are not stuck in the system.
Eisenhower showed leadership besides commanding the war in Europe; he created the US Interstate highway system. Kennedy leadership created the Moon landing; he also supported nuclear power. Love him or hate him, Fauci displayed leadership in the fog of Covid war.
We populate NRC with lawyers, who are experts that FOLLOW the laws and regulations. We don't need followers, we need leaders.
Is nobody then expected to be accountable for the system that they operate in? That is a recipe for continuous poor performance with no mechanism for improvement.
I think it is clear that the incentives are misaligned, and I can’t fault Centrus for hiring their gov’t sugar daddy as he has the Rolodex full of DOE people. That doesn’t excuse the incompetence nor the lack of performance.
That's right. People value their own security first, that means their job. This builds in a reaction worse than a conspiracy because it is very hard to attack. because it has no centre.
Fair enough but when a research university (Abilene Christian Univ.) has to spend $1 billion on its NRC application and include 12,000 pages of submittals for a molten salt SMR then whether you chalk it up to conspiracy or banality or inertia it has to change. Fast.
I do fault top management at regulators such as NRC and EPA for lack of LEADERSHIP. Nuclear power provides the means to address climate change, lower energy costs, and end global energy poverty; the commissioners must know this. Congress did not write LNT and ALARA rules -- the NRC and EPA did! The commissioners signed off on the regulations. They have the power to change them; they are not stuck in the system.
Eisenhower showed leadership besides commanding the war in Europe; he created the US Interstate highway system. Kennedy leadership created the Moon landing; he also supported nuclear power. Love him or hate him, Fauci displayed leadership in the fog of Covid war.
We populate NRC with lawyers, who are experts that FOLLOW the laws and regulations. We don't need followers, we need leaders.