Watchdogs call for Nuclear Regulatory Commission to enforce fire safety regulations or shut nuclear plants

A new report from three watchdog groups - Beyond Nuclear, NC WARN and the Union of Concerned Scientists - calls for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to cease gambling with American lives and enforce fire safety regulations at the country's 104 operating nuclear reactors. The groups cite "deliberate bureaucratic negligence" as responsible for leaving millions of Americans unnecessarily exposed to high risks of fire hazards at reactors for more than a decade. (Photo at left shows the 2004 fire at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant). "I would not want to be in NRC's shoes when they face a grieving nation following a disaster so easily prevented," says David Lochbaum of UCS. Read the new report, Fire When NOT Ready, here. The report has been submitted to members of Congress. Read the letter to Rep. Tom Carper (R-DEL) here. And read - and circulate to your media contacts - the joint press release here.