The September 30threportcomes from the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan group that studies various issues for Congress.
And what, according to the GAO, was the Commissions great sin?
NRC has not taken actions to incorporate consideration of socioeconomic consequences into its regulations, the report said.
A general view shows the cooling towers of the Mochovce nuclear power plant on November 6, 2023 in Mochovce, Slovakia.© Photo by Janos Kummer/Getty Images
The concept is that someone attaches an explosive to radioactive material.
When the bomb goes off it spreads the radioactive material, poisons an area, and kills people.
A dirty bomb isnt comparable, in any way, to a nuclear weapon.
In reality, most radioactive material is so heavy that it doesnt travel very far.
From 2010 to 2014, Israeldetonated a series of dirty bombsin the desert near the Dimona nuclear reactor.
The particles didnt spread far.
Despite the incredible rarity and unlikelihood of a dirty bomb, America became obsessed with it after 9/11.
According to the GAO, however, the NRC hasnt kept up.
NRC has not implemented 11 out of 18 actions we have recommended since 2012, the report said.
The report constantly reminded the reader that dirty bombs are bad for business.
In 2019, a government contractorpierced a medical devicecontaining cesium-137 at the University of Washington.
This was an industrial accident, not a dirty bomb, butaccording to the GAOthe economic impact was severe.
Several researchers could not find replacement laboratories to host their research and were compelled to seek employment elsewhere.
Thirteen people were exposed during this accident and had to be decontaminated.
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