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WASHINGTON - A factory that makes uranium fuel for nuclear reactors had a spill so bad it kept the plant closed for seven months last year, and became one of only three incidents in all of 2006 serious enough for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to include in an annual report to Congress. After an investigation, the commission changed the terms of the factory's license and said the public had 20 days to request a hearing on the changes.But no member of the public ever did. In fact, no member of the public could find out about the changes.The document describing them, including the notice of hearing rights for anyone who felt adversely affected, was stamped "official use only," meaning that it was not publicly accessible."Official use only" is a category below "Secret." Documents in that category technically are not classified, but they are kept from the public.The agency would not even have told Congress which factory was involved were it not for the efforts of Gregory Jaczko, one of the five commissioners. He identified the company, Nuclear Fuel Services of Erwin, Tenn., in a memo that became part of the public record. His memo said other public documents would allow an informed person to deduce that the factory belonged to Nuclear Fuel Services.Such secrecy by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission now is coming under attack by influential members of Congress, who complain that the agency is withholding many documents about nuclear facilities in the name of national security, but that many of these documents are not sensitive. The lawmakers say the agency must rebalance its penchant for secrecy with the public's right to participate in the licensing process and to know about potential hazards.To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
