Failures and Regulations of Nuclear Power Production
Nuclear power may well be the energy of the future. As the scientific community continues to explore and understand the molecular world, the prospects of nuclear power production expand. Capabilities of the output of nuclear energy production seem to be limited only by imagination. However, the abstract notion of the power of nuclear production has been limited by the failures of its application. Though the innovative techniques of nuclear power plants continue modernize, the American people remember the consequences of nuclear catastrophes of the past. Due to its mired history, the extensive regulations of nuclear energy production, and the convoluted agency oversight for which it is subjected,
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To quell the fears of the public, the United States has taken active steps in the regulatory process of nuclear power production. The major regulations deal with the means of production as well as how to properly deal with radioactive waste. Regarding production of nuclear energy, public policy has taken an active role in dictating how the process should function. Specifically, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Committee functions as the primary agency tasked with enforcing the regulations on nuclear power plants. The NRC was founded in 1974 when President Carter signed into law the Energy Reorganization Act. Emerging from World War II and replacing the former Atomic Energy Commission, the NRC would be tasked with the supervision of commercial nuclear power plants. One major provision of that charge is the need to oversee how nuclear power plants will function. This level of specificity will be delegated to smaller branches within the NRC by the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to be further explored in an effort to express its