[ RadSafe ] Too much GOVERNMENT regulation

[Steven Dapra]

March 23

         Two comments interspersed.

Steven Dapra


At 04:57 AM 3/23/2011, you wrote:
>Having been in the Nuclear Power business since the early days ( 
>1970s) I can tell you from first hand experience that allowing the 
>utilties and manufacturers a free hand would be disasterous. That is 
>not to say they most in the industry do not mean well; the drive for 
>profits is simply too strong an incentive and allows all sorts of 
>self rationalizing when making decisions on safety.

         How strong is the drive for power by governments?

>It is somewhat akin to what happened when the banks were deregulated 
>with the result of a major economic collapse in our country. The 
>risks were known (read "Too Big to Fail" its quite illuminating) by 
>JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers etc but they were so afraid of being left 
>out of the wind falls being created by the derivatives and sub-prime 
>loan markets they simply wished it away.
>
>I would agree that too much regulation is incredibly suffocating and 
>not good for safety or the economy. The trick is to find the right 
>balance - its real hard and we all have opinions on whether the 
>poridge is too cold or too hot. One thing I do support is the 
>periodic review of regulations so those that did not accomplish 
>their intended purpose or are found to be overly burdensome are 
>eliminated and tweaks are made in the useful regulations to ensure 
>their effectiveness. One big problem with OSHA and EPA is that once 
>a regulation is approved its almost impossible to change it or eliminate it.

         My point (above) exactly.  We are the state and no matter 
what we do, we are incapable of being wrong.  Plus, we have the power 
to force our errors onto everyone and everything.

>Kind of runs against the grain of a "Continuous Improvement Process."
>
>I personally don't like posting my political opinions on this board 
>(and I should be castigated for it-don't worry I will punish myself 
>by watching Twighlight) but in this case I felt in necessary to 
>weigh in based on personal experience within the nuclear power community,
>
>
>Pete C
>
>
>
>
>Peter Collopy, CIH, CHP, CSP
>Director, Entropy Control
>Chaos for the Future
>129 Second Street
>Troy, NY 12180
>518.326.6413

[edit]