Taking the R out of the NRC

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Just when you thought nuclear power plants were headed the way of the dinosaur, last month the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission doled out its first-ever 20-year extension on a beleaguered Maryland plant’s operating license, according to GRIST MAGAZINE.

Activists fear that the move could mean operating extensions for dozens of other nuclear plants across the country. At least 27 other plants are likely to seek similar extensions by 2003. Public Citizen and the National Whistleblower Center claim the NRC quietly changed the license-renewal process to make it more difficult for the public to weigh in with questions about the Maryland plant’s safety and with complaints about the nuclear waste piling up around it.

The National Whistleblower Center filed suit against the NRC in federal appeals court about the change in the review process, and the court ruled in their favor. But the decision was thrown out, and while the case awaited a new hearing, the NRC went ahead with the Maryland plant’s renewal.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate