Re: DOE regulation

[Al Tschaeche <antatnsu@pacbell.net>]

Joelle Key wrote:
> Are there any
> reasons why DOE should not be regulated?

The most cogent reason why DOE should not be regulated by the NRC is
because there is a huge difference between the DOE contractors and the
NRC licensees: The NRC licensees do not get their funding from the NRC. 
They are, for the most part, private companies (DOD licensees are again
different, but more like DOE contractors, in this instance, than like
NRC licensees.) and do not get operating or other money from the NRC. 
DOE contractors, on the other hand, get all their money from DOE. 
Therefore, if the NRC found a violation and the contractor said it would
take a million dollars to fix it, and if the DOE did not agree and
didn't give the contractor the money, the fix could not be made unless
the contractor used its own money to do it, an unlikely occurance.  The
contractor is in an impossible position between two federal agencies. 
That is very different from the NRC case where the licensee has no other
governmental agency supplying the money.  Until there is an agreement
between the NRC and DOE concerning the money for regulatory fixes, I
would never contemplate being a DOE contractor, regulated by the NRC, if
I were a potential DOE contractor.  I do understand that some DOE and
DOD facilities are already regulated by the NRC.  Perhaps some of those
facilities could enlighten radsafe members as to how it really works in
today's world.  Al Tschaeche antatnsu@pacbell.net
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