GAO Wants Congress to Force NRC to Act on “Dirty Bomb” Recommendations
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is ignoring recommendations and missing the point when it comes to protecting against the risks of a “dirty bomb.”
In a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, NRC is chided for not focusing on the potential socioeconomic impact of such an attack, and instead paying too much attention to the health impact. NRC was also faulted for failing to implement 11 of the 18 recommendations GAO made on the topic dating back to 2012.
A dirty bomb is when radiological material is mixed with an explosive. While an attack is considered unlikely, GAO notes that “recent security threats have raised concern that terrorists or other bad actors could target radioactive material for theft and use in a domestic attack.”
Economic Fallout
GAO says NRC’s behavior is starkly different from the other three agencies charged with U.S. domestic radiological security: the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which have all implemented GAO’s recommendations on dirty bombs and have incorporated the potential socioeconomic consequences of such an attack into their rulemaking.
GAO faults NRC for failing to consider the socioeconomic consequences of a potential dirty bomb in the way it handles its regulations. Such consequences include denial of access to property, economic loss, and cleanup costs. GAO says NRC is focusing of fatalities and health effects as the primary consequences. But GAO says that is the wrong lens, as health effects are likely to be limited in comparison to socioeconomic impacts.
For instance, GAO points out that a 2019 radioactive material leak at the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center led to $156 million in damage, including impacts to more than 80 research programs and the forced relocation of more than 200 researchers and lab staff. The building had to be closed off from May 2019 through April 2021.
NRC was also chided for not strengthening the security of certain radioactive materials not subject to NRC’s enhanced security requirements, known as category three sources.
GAO recommends that Congress consider legislation to force NRC to act.
“At the moment, as a result of that, NRC does not have actions ongoing to implement our recommendations, and that’s why we are elevating these to the Congress for consideration,” said GAO Director of Natural Resources and Environment Allison Bawden to Federal News Network.