"The US Department of Energy (DoE) program that would see three new experimental commercial nuclear reactors launched by July 4 is the driver behind the secret rewriting of nuclear safety and security standards, says a report released Wednesday by NPR. It said, "sweeping changes [which have not been made public] were made to accelerate development of a new generation of nuclear reactor designs" known as small modular reactors (SMRs). The report also noted that the project is being "backed by billions in private equity, venture capital and public investments. Backers of the reactors, including tech giants Amazon, Google and Meta, have said they want the reactors to one day supply cheap, reliable power for artificial intelligence.""
"Loosened groundwater rules: "Protection of groundwater is no longer a 'must.' Rather companies must give 'consideration' to 'avoiding or minimizing' radioactive contamination. Requirements for monitoring and documentation are also softened." The requirement to use the "best available technology" to protect water supplies was also removed, and the words "should be" or "may be" were substituted for "prohibited" and "must" in the regulations."
The Department of Energy program aims to launch three experimental commercial small modular reactors by July 4 and prompted secret changes to safety and security standards to speed deployment. New orders slash hundreds of pages of security requirements and relax multiple environmental safeguards. Groundwater protections were downgraded from mandatory to advisory and monitoring requirements were softened; mandates to use 'best available technology' were removed and prohibitions were replaced with 'should' or 'may.' Environmental protection language was weakened toward 'minimizing' impacts 'if practical.' The program is supported by billions in private and public investment, including major tech firms seeking power for AI.
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