Confessions of a rogue nuclear regulator / Gregory B. Jaczko.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jaczko, Gregory B., 1970- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nuclear energy--United States.

Nuclear energy.

United States.

Local Subjects:

United States.

Physical Description:

ix, 196 pages ; 22 cm

Edition:

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2019.

Summary:

The former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reveals how the nuclear energy industry endangers lives, how the NRC has been overpowered by the industry it was meant to regulate, and why Congress does nothing to change the status quo.

"A shocking exposé from the most powerful insider in nuclear regulation about how the nuclear energy industry endangers our lives--and why Congress does nothing to stop it. Gregory Jaczko had never heard of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when he arrived in Washington like a modern-day Mr. Smith. But, thanks to the determination of a powerful senator, he would soon find himself at the agency's helm. A Birkenstock-wearing physics PhD, Jaczko was unlike any chairman the agency had ever seen: he was driven by a passion for technology and a concern for public safety, with no ties to the industry and no agenda other than to ensure that his agency make the world a safer place. And so Jaczko witnessed what outsiders like him were never meant to see--an agency overpowered by the industry it was meant to regulate and a political system determined to keep it that way. After an emergency trip to Japan to help oversee the frantic response to the horrifying nuclear disaster at Fukushima in 2011, and witnessing the American nuclear industry's refusal to make the changes he considered necessary to prevent an equally catastrophic event from occurring here, Jaczko started saying aloud what no one else of his stature had ever dared. [This book] is a wake-up call to the dangers of lobbying, the importance of governmental regulation, and the failures of congressional oversight. But it is also a classic tale of an idealist on a mission whose misadventures in Washington are astounding, absurd, and sometimes even funny--and so Jaczko tells the story with humor, self-deprecation, and, yes, occasional bursts of outrage. Above all, [this book] is about confronting the truth about one of the most pressing public safety and environmental issues of our time: nuclear power will never be safe."--Jacket.

Contents:

Dr. Jaczko goes to Washington

Forget and repeat : a brief but necessary history of accidents

The burning issue : the battle to prevent nuclear fires

Nevada roulette : ending the Yucca Mountain charade

Accidents do happen : the tragedy of Fukushima

Visiting Tokyo : crises reveal human beings at their best

Fukushima fallout : the fight over essential industry reforms

Tsunamis in the heartland : a scenario for an American Fukushima

Express lane : the nuclear industry licensing juggernaut

Cleanup is forever : visiting Fukushima

Going nuclear : confrontation over the building of new atomic plants

Out of time : my departure from the agency and the future of nuclear.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781476755762

1476755760

OCLC:

1039347383

Publisher Number:

40028847040